ANNALS 



OF 



PORTSMOUTH, 

COMPRISING A PERIOD OF 

TWO HUNDRED YEARS FROM THE 

FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN; 

WITH 

BZOaRAFHICAL SKETCXZES 

OF A FEW OF THE 

MOST RESPECTABLE INHABITANTS 



BY NATHANIEL ADAMS. 



This shall be written for the generation to come psalms. 

Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, 
and their children, anotlier generation.. ..joei. 



/ 



PORTSMOUTH : 
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 



1825. 

C. Norris, Printer, Exeter. 






WSTRICT OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, to 7eit : 

District Clerk's Office. 

BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the twenty-second day of November, A. B, 1824, and 
in the forty-ninlh year of the Independence of the United States of America, NatJianiel Adams 
of the said District, has d. pusitetlin this Office, the Title of a Book the right whereof he claims 
as Author in the words following, to wit : 

Annals of Portsmouth, comprising a period of two hundred years, from the first settlement 
oftheTowii; with Biographical sketches of a few of the most respectable Inhabitants. By 
Nathaiiii I Adams. This snal' be written for the generations to come. Psalms, Tell ye your 
children of it, and let your children tell their chilth-en, and their children, another generation. 

Joel. 
In Conformity to tlie Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled " An Act for the 
encouragi-iiieKt of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Au- 
thors and Proprietors of such Copies (luring the limes therein mentioned :" and also to an Act 
entitle*!, " An Act supplementary to an Act, entitled, An Act for the encouragement of Learn- 
ing, by s';cur:.-.g t!ie Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such 
Copi'S during the times therein mentioned ; and extending the Benefits thereof to the Arts of 
Designing, Engraving, and Etching Historical and other Prints." 

WILLIAM CLAGGETT, 
Clerk of the District of New-Hampshire. 
A true Copy of Record, 

Attest-WILLIAM CLAGGETT, Clerk. 



H?ffUCf<» 



The preservation of such facts, as will be useful to 
the future historian, is of public importance. Those 
which depend on memory, or have been long hand- 
ed down by tradition, are liable either to be forgot- 
ten or misrepresented. They should, therefore, be 
carefully collected from time to time and deposited 
in such archives, as are prepared for them. Since 
the invention of the art of printing, the best mode 
of preserving historical facts, is by the press. The 
record of them is thereby multiplied, and the knowl- 
edge of them extensively communicated. 

Every one should be acquainted with the origin 
and progress of the society to which he belongs. It 
is gratifying to the curiosity to learn the events of 
former days, in which our ancestors took an active 
part ; to hear of the hardships and perils which they 
encountered, and the fortitude with which they en- 
dured them ; to see the advances they made in ob- 
taining the comforts and conveniences of life, and 
the state of independence and ease, in which they 
have placed their descendants. 



IV PREFACE. 

For the benefit of the present generation, as well 
as to assist whoever may hereafter undertake to write 
a more connected history, I have endeavoured to 
collect the most authentic documents relative to my 
native town. For this purpose I have carefully ex- 
amined all ancient records and papers, within my 
control, which had any connexion with the subject. 
I have likewise examined all the periodical publica- 
tions, that have been printed in this town, which I 
could obtain. From these, I have made many selec- 
tions and quotations. There was no printing office 
established in New-Hampshire, until the year 1756. 
For events prior to that period, I have consulted 
public records, or availed myself of the labours of 
the accurate historian of New-Hampshire, the Rev- 
erend Doctor Belknap, who has left no important 
event of early date unnoticed. The province was 
originally divided into four towns or associations, of 
which Portsmouth was the most populous, and took 
the lead in public affiiirs. Here the officers of 
government generally resided, and the courts were 
usually held. The history of the province will ne- 
cessarily embrace that of the town. I have had 
frequent recurrence to this history, and often quoted 
from it. From many aged and intelligent persons I 
have obtained much valuable information. Through 
the indulgence of Thomas P. Drown, Esquire, the 
present town clerk, I have had access to the records 
of the town ; and from them many of the facts relat- 
ed in these annals, have been extracted. It is to be 



PREFACE. V 

regretted, that there are no records of the town 
prior to the year 1 652. Mr. Alden's account of the 
religious socieiies in Portsmouth, has been of essen- 
tial service to me. These have been the principal 
sources, from which I have obtained the information 
contained in the following annals. 

I have occasionally introduced biographical notices 
of some of the most distinguished characters, which 
have in their time, been an ornament or benefit to 
the town. It is a tribute due to worth and integri- 
ty, to hand down to posterity the names and charac- 
ters of persons, who have filled important stations 
in life, with honor to themselves and advantage to 
the community. It may induce others to follow 
their examples, and imitate their virtues. Without 
doubt among the early inhabitants of the town were 
many eminent and useful men, whose names have 
sunk into oblivion, and whose virtues are unrecorded 
and unknown ; many, whose names alone have reach- 
ed us. 

Should this publication be favourably received by 
my fellow townsmen ; be the means of communica- 
ting to them any useful information, and of introduc- 
ing them to the knowledge of some of our respectable 
forefathers, the object of the writer will be fully 
accomplished. 

PORTSMOUTH; 1824. 



[$iiwiil«i ^f P<jirit2i8iiw^m 



The discovery of America excited in the minds 
of the Europeans an insatiable desire of obtaining 
riches. It opened to them new sources of wealth, 
and induced many persons to leave their native shore 
and cross the wide extended ocean in pursuit of gain. 
The mines of South America first attracted their 
notice and inspired them with the most sanguine 
hopes. These inexhaustible funds were soon mo- 
nopolized by the Spaniards and Portuguese ; and 
other nations were obliged to turn their attention to 
different objects. The fur trade, and the fisheries 
afforded the best prospects of success ; for which 
purpose establishments were made at Newfoundland, 
and this business was carried on by the English to a 
considerable extent. Among the adventurers who 
engaged in it, was John Smith, a very intelligent man, 
and skilful navigator. He left the Downs in the 
spring of the year 1614, with two ships, and arrived 
at Newfoundland the 30th of April. He there built 
several boats which he profitably employed in fish- 



8 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ing; whilst he in a small boat, with eight men, ex- 
amined all the coast from Penobscot to Cape Cod, 
trading with the natives, as he passed from place to 
place. On this route, in the month of May or June, 
he discovered the river Piscataqua, which he des- 
cribed ^^as a safe harbour, with a rocky shore." 
He sailed for England the 18th of July in one of his 
ships, and arrived at London the last of August, 
when he published a description of the country, and 
a chart of the coast he had examined, which he called 
New-England. This is the first account we have of 
the river Piscataqua ; nor does it appear that any 
other European visited it, for several years after- 
wards, either for the purpose of trading or making 
a settlement. 

1621. 

Captain John Mason was among the first who en- 
tered zealously into the scheme of making a fortune 
by trading to New-England and forming a perma- 
nent settlement there. He was a merchant of Lon- 
don, and afterwards engaged in a maritime life, and 
was concerned in the fisheries at Newfoundland, of 
which place he was governor. In consequence of his 
residence there he obtained some knowledge of the 
country. On his return to England he was appoint- 
ed governor of Portsmouth in Hampshire. He was 
also elected a member of the council established at 
Plymouth in the county of Devon, by a royal charter 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 9 

i' for the planting, ruling, ordering, and governing 
of New-England, in America ;" and not long after 
was chosen their secretary. He was active in pros- 
ecuting the designs of the council ; and on the 9th 
of March obtained a grant from them <* of all the 
land from the river Naumkeag (Salem) round Cape 
Ann, to the river Merrimack, and up each of those 
rivers to the farthest head thereof; then to cross 
over from the head of the one to the head of the 
other ; with all the islands lying within three miles 
of the coast j" which tract he called Mariana. 

1622. 

On the tenth day of August the Council granted 
to Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges jointly, '^all 
the lands situated between the rivers Merrimack 
and Sagadehock, extending back to the great lakes, 
and the river of Canada," by the name of Laconia. 
Gorges and Mason admitted as associates with them, 
several merchants of London, Bristol, Exeter, Ply- 
mouth, Shrewsbury, and Dorchester. They styled 
themselves the company of Laconia. 

1623. 

This company resolved to establish a plantation at 

the river Piscataqua and carry on the fishery there. 

Accordingly in the spring they sent over David 

Thompson a Scotchman, Edward Hilton and his 

2 



10 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

brother William Hilton, who had been fishmongers 
in London, with several other persons to commence 
the settlement, and furnished them with provisions, 
tools, and implements of every kind, necessary for 
accomplishing the great undertaking. These per- 
sons arrived safely in the harbour ; but the precise 
time of their landing, and in what vessel they came 
is uncertain. The two Hiltons went up the river 
about eight miles, and settled on a neck of land, cal- 
led by the natives Winnichahannat j but which they 
named Northam, since included in the town of Do- 
ver. Thompson and his party established themselves 
on the west side of Piscataqua river, near the mouth 
of the westerly branch, which they called Little- 
Harbour. Here the first house was erected, which 
was built on this plantation. The site of this house 
was on a peninsula, or point of land, now called Odi- 
orne's point, which is formed by Little-Harbour on 
the north east, and a creek on the south, with a 
large tract of salt marsh on the west. This place 
was selected with great judgment. The peninsula 
contains about five hundred acres of land, on which 
is a commanding eminence; where are evident re- 
mains of an ancient fort, and situated so as to be a 
complete defence against the incursions of a savage 
enemy. The house was erected a few rods to the 
northward of the fort. The present possessors of 
the land point out the spot on which it stood. They 
think they have discovered the foundation of the 
chimney and the cellar walls. These were standing 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 11 

when Mr. Hubbard wrote his liistory in 1680. 
Three or four thousand acres of land were annexed 
to this building, with an intention of forming a ma- 
nor there, according to the English custom. In the 
division of the property, which took place after- 
wards among the company of Laconia, this part of it 
was allotted to Capt. John Mason, who devised it by 
his last will, to his grandson Robert Tufton, by the 
name of Mason-Hall. Procuring a sufficient supply 
of salt for the use of the fishery, was one important 
object, among others, which demanded the attention 
of these first settlers. A large quantity was necessa- 
ry for preserving the fish, which were taken in 
abundance. They erected salt works here, and 
manufactured salt to good advantage. Trading with 
the natives for furs was pursued by some of the set- 
tlers ; others attended to the cultivation of the earth, 
and raised those articles, which were essentially ne- 
cessary for their support, and which they could not 
otherwise obtain. 

The colony of Plymouth were alarmed at the 
scarcity of provisions amongst them ; and Governor 
Bradford sent Captain Standish to procure some. 
He came to Piscataqua, and the settlers here suppli- 
ed him. David Thompson accompanied him to Ply- 
mouth on his return, and made a short visit to that 
colony. 



12 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1624. 

Thompson having seen a very pleasant and fruit- 
ful island in the Massachusetts bay, which he pre- 
ferred to his situation at Piscataqua, removed there 
in the spring, within a year after he began his for- 
mer settlement. The General Court of the Massa- 
chusetts colony, sometime afterwards confirmed this 
island to him ; and it has ever since been called after 
him, Thompson's island. 

A ship arrived at Plymouth, which brought over 
three heifers and a bull. These were the first neat 
cattle that were imported into New-England. 

Several merchants and adventurers belonging to 
Dorchester, in England, sent over some fishermen, 
with every thing necessary for carrying on the fish- 
ery, who made an establishment for that purpose at 
Cape-Ann : John Oldham and Roger Conant, who 
had left the Plymouth colony, were appointed over- 
seers. 

1625. 

Captain Wollaston, with three or four persons of 
eminence, and thirty labourers, began a settlement 
on Massachusetts bay, at a place since called Brain- 
tree : the southerly part being mountainous, they 
called it Mount Wollaston. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 13 

1626. 

Captain Wollaston did not remain more than a 
year on his plantation. It did not answer his ex- 
pectation, and he removed with the greater part of 
his assistants and servants to Virginia. Thomas 
Morton and several others remained behind. In 
the fall, Mr. Conant removed from Cape-Ann to 
Naumkeag (Salem) and settled on a fruitful and 
pleasant neck of land. A number of planters made 
a settlement at Winnisimmet, and several others 
were begun along the coast between Piscataqua and 
Plymouth. A neighbourly intercourse was kept up 
among them ; and the natives had remained peacea- 
ble and friendly since the Europeans arrived here. 

1627. 

Morton and his companions at Mount Wollaston 
acquired convsiderable property by trading with the 
natives ; but being under no restraint, they became 
very dissolute ; they changed the name of their resi- 
dence to Merry Mount, and erected a May pole 
there, around which they had indecent dances and 
revelings. 

1628. 

Thomas Morton had collected round him a num- 
ber of runaway servants and disorderly persons^ who 



14 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

were unwilling to submit to regular government. 
This company was formidable to their neighbo^irs 
on account of their irregular conduct. They were 
likewise in the habit of supplying the Indians with 
guns and ammunition, under pretence of employing 
ihem in hunting. The people were alarmed when 
they found the savages furnished with fire arms, and 
adroit in using them. The principal settlers at 
Piscataqua, Naumkeag, Winnisimmet and other pla- 
ces, met and agreed to solicit the colony of Plymouth, 
which was more powerful than all the rest, to join 
in suppressing Morton and his company before they 
did further mischief. The Governor accordingly 
sent a party under Captain Standish to put a stop to 
this unlawful traffic and irregular conduct. They 
seized Morton, and confined him ; and dispersed 
the most disorderly of his adherents. They after- 
wards sent Morton a prisoner to England, by the 
first ship, which sailed for that country. 

1629. 

May 17, John Wheelwright, late of England, a 
minister of the gospel, Augustin Story, Thomas 
Wight, William Wentworth, and Thomas Leavitt. 
purchased of the Indians " all that part of the main 
land, bounded by the river Piscataqua and the river 
Merrimack, that is to say, beginning at Newiche- 
wannock falls in Piscataqua river aforesaid, and so 
down said river to the sea, and so along the sea 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 15 

shore to Merrimack river, and so up along said river 
to the falls of Pautucket aforesaid, and from said 
Pautucket falls, upon a northwest line, twenty En- 
glish miles into the woods, and from thence, to run 
upon a straight line north east and south west, till it 
meets with the main rivers that run down to Pau- 
tucket falls, and Newichewannock falls, and the said 
rivers to be bounds of the said lands, from the thwart 
line, or head line to the aforesaid falls, and the main 
channel of each river, from Pautucket falls and Ne- 
wichewannock falls to the main sea, to be the side 
bounds, and the main sea between Piscataqua riv- 
er and Merrimack river to be the lower bounds, and 
the thwart or head line that runs from river to river, 
to be the upper bounds ; together with all islands 
within said bounds, as also the Isles-of Shoals so 
called." 

The principal agents and factors of the company 
of Laconia were witnesses to the execution of this 
deed, and of the delivery of quiet and peaceable 
possession of all the lands therein mentioned, to the 
grantees. 

The land contained within the boundaries men- 
tioned in this de*l, includes all the settlements, 
which had been made by Mason and his associates 
in the patent of Laconia, which were west of Piscat- 
aqua river. 

It has of late yeafli been suggested, that this deed 
is not genuine. It is granted that Wheelwright and 
his associates obtained a deed from the Indians, of a 



16 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

tract of land, about Squarascot falls, comprehended 
in the bounds of Exeter. 

Nov. 7, Capt. John Mason procured a new patent 
from the Council of Plymouth, under their common 
seal, for a tract of land ^^ from the middle of Piscat- 
aqua river, and up the same to the farthest head 
thereof, and from thence north-westward, until sixty 
miles from the mouth of the harbour, were finished ; 
also through Merrimack river, to the farthest head 
thereof, and so forward up into the land westward, 
until sixty miles were finished ; and from thence to 
cross over land to the end of the sixty miles as count- 
ed from Piscataqua river : together with all islands 
within five leagues of the coast.'^ The land contain- 
ed within this patent, was called New- Hampshire. 
This grant included all the land in Wheelwright's 
purchase. The grant of Laconia comprehended the 
whole of New- Hampshire; and the grant of Massa- 
chusetts was to extend three miles north of Merri- 
mack river. In this manner the grants were con- 
tinually interfering with each other, and the same 
lands were frequently conveyed to different propri- 
etors. The boundary line between Massachusetts 
and New-Hampshire, was set#ed by agreement, 
between Matthew Cradock, the first Governor of 
Massachusetts, and Capt. John Mason, to be three 
, miles northward of the Merrimack, 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 17 

1630. 

March 12, The Council of Plymouth granted to 
Edward Hilton and his associates, " all that part of 
the river Piscataqua, called or known by the name 
of Hilton's point, with the south side of the said river 
up to the falls of Squamscot, and three miles into the 
main land for breadth.'^ Within these limits are 
contained the towns of Dover, Durham, and Strat- 
ham, with part of Newington and Greenland. Cap- 
tain Thomas Wiggin was appointed agent for the 
grantees of this patent. 

1631. 

The settlements at Piscataqua did not advance 
very rapidly, nor were there many buildings erect- 
ed until this year ; they now began to increase. 
The 3d of November, the Council made a grant to Sir 
Ferdinando Gorges, Capt. John Mason, John Cotton, 
Henry Gardner, George Griffith, Edwin Gay, Thom- 
as Warnerton, Thomas Eyre, and Eliezer Eyre, who 
had already expended three thousand pounds to 
promote the settlement of that part of the patent of 
Laconia, on which '^ the buildings and salt works 
were erected, situate on both sides the harbour and 
river of Piscataqua, to the extent of five miles west- 
ward by the sea coast, then to cross over towards 
the other plantation, in the hands of Edward Hilton.'' 
These were the original limits of Portsmouth, and 
3 



18 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

within them were included the present towns of Ports- 
mouth, New-Castle, and Rye, with part of Newington 
and Greenland. Capt. Thomas Camocks and Henry 
Jocelyn were appointed to put the grantees in pos- 
session of this tract of land. The grantees appointed 
Captain Walter Neal their agent, and he resided 
at Little-Harbour. The names of the stewards and 
servants, sent by Mason into his province of New- 
Hampshire, were Walter Neal, Ambross Gibbins, 
Thomas Camocks, William Raymond, " Francis Wil- 
liams, George Vaughan, Thomas Warnerton, Henry 
Jocelyn, Francis Norton, Sampson Lane, Renajd 
Fernald, Ralph Goe, Henry Goe, William Cooper, 
W^illiara Chadborn, Francis Matthews, Humphrey 
Chadborn, William Chadborn, Jun., Francis Rand, 
James Johnson, Anthony EUins, Henry Baldwin, 
Thomas Spencer, Thomas Furral, Thomas Herd, 
Thomas Chatherton, John Crowther, John Williams, 
Roger Knight, Henry Sherborn, John Goddard, 
Thomas Fernald, Thomas Withers, Thomas Canney, 
John Symonds, John Peverly, William Seavey, 
Henry Langstaff, William Berry, Jeremiah Walford, 
James Wall, William Brakin, Thomas Walford, 
Thomas Moore, Joseph Beal, Hugh James, Alexan- 
der Jones, John Ault, William Bracket, James Newt. 
The first ten were stewards, and had the superin- 
tendence of the various branches of business, which 
were carried on in'the plantation. Godfrie, who had 
been here sometime, lived at Little-Harbour, and 
had the care of the fishery. He had under his di- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 19 

rection six great shallops, five fishing boats with 
sails, anchors, and cables, and thirteen skiffs. Chad- 
born built a house near the bank of the main river, 
about three miles from the mouth, which was called 
the Great House. This was situated near the cor- 
ner of Water-street and Pitt-street, and was occupi- 
ed by Warnerton. Gibbins had the care of the saw- 
mill at Newichewannock, and on his removal to 
Sanders' point, where the adventurers gave him a 
tract of land for his faithful services, Chadborn 
removed to Newichewannock, and took charge of 
the saw-mill. The care of the salt works was com- 
mitted to Francis Williams. Renald Fernald was a 
Surgeon. With the persons above-mentioned, Ma- 
son sent over eight Danes and twenty-two women. 
The Danes were employed in sawing lumber, and in 
making potash. The proprietors likewise sent over 
several cannon and other warlike implements, which 
their agents placed on the northeast point of Great- 
Island, at the mouth of the great harbour, which 
they called Fort Point. They laid out the ground 
^' about a bow-shot from the water-side to a high 
rock, on which it was intended, in time, to build 
the principal fort." — A severe contest arose between, 
the agents of the two plantations, respecting the set- 
tlement of a point of land, which extended into the 
river from the southwestern shore, and which was 
equally convenient for both plantations. Wiggin 
began to make improvements upon it ; Neal order- 
ed him to desist. Wiggin persisted, and threatened 



20 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

to defend his right by the sword : Neal replied in 
the same determined manner ; and they would have 
proceeded to extremities, if some more moderate 
persons had not persuaded them to refer the dispute 
to their employers. From these circumstances the 
contested place was called Bloody-point, and still 
retains that name. 

1632. 

Capt. Neal, Henry Jocelyn, and Darby Field set 
out on foot to explore the interior part of the coun- 
try, in which they expected to meet with the great 
lakes, at a distance not exceeding one hundred miles. 
In this route they visited the White hills ; and from 
some chrystals, which they found there, tbey gave 
them the name of the Chrystal -hills. Their provis- 
ions growing scanty, and not being able to obtain a 
further supply in the wilderness, they were obliged 
to return, before they reached the lakes. They de- 
scribed the country through which they passed, in a 
most romantic style. In the fall of this year, the 
settlements along the sea-coast were alarmed with 
the conduct of one Dixy Bull, and fifteen others, 
whom he had associated with him. They committed 
several acts of piracy, and rifled the fort at Pema- 
quid. The two plantations on Piscataqua river, 
united and fitted out four pinnaces and shallops, in 
which they sent forty men. These being joined by 
a bark l)"p.]^ Boston, with twenty men on board, 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 21 

proceeded to Pemaquid in search of the pirates ; but 
they had gone farther to the eastward before this 
force arrived there, and by that means escaped be- 
ing arrested. It was said that Bull wa:s afterwards 
executed in England. 

1633. 

The bank of the river above where the Great 
House was built, and extending some distance above 
what is now called Church-hill, produced a large 
quantity of strawberries, on which account it was 
called Strawberry-bank, and Portsmouth was fre- 
quently called by the inhabitants of the neighbouring 
towns, The Bank, until the middle of the 18th cen- 
tury. 

By order of the Proprietors, Capt. Neal, agent of 
the lower plantation, and Capt. Thomas Wiggin, the 
agent for the upper plantation, made a survey of 
their respective patents, and agreed upon their 
boundary lines. The lower patent runs from the 
Harbour's mouth by the sea-side to the entrance of a 
little river between two head lands, which they cal- 
led Little Boar's Head, and Great Boar's Head, and 
from the mouth of that little river to go on a straight 
line to Wheelwright's Creek; and from thence down 
the river to where it began. But these bounda- 
ries included part of Hilton's patent, which ex- 
tended three miles on the south side of the river 
into the woods. This line was also adjusted by 
them, and a plan sent to the proprietors. 



22 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1634. 

Capt- Neal returned to England, and the princi- 
pal agency of the lower plantation devolved upon 
Ambross Gibbins and Thomas Warnerton. The 
proprietors had advanced large sums of money and 
received but small returns in lumber and furs, far 
short of their expenses : most of them were discour- 
aged, and sold their proportion of the lands and pub- 
lic stock to Mason and Gorges. These persons en- 
gaged with new ardour in the undertaking, and made 
every necessary provision for carrying on their plan- 
tations and other business in New-Hampshire, ex- 
tensively. They appointed Francis Williams Gov- 
ernor. " He was a discreet, sensible man, accom- 
plished in his manners, and was very acceptable to 
the people." 

Mason and Gorges made a division of the proper- 
ty they held in common, and Gorges relinquished 
his right to all the lands in New-Hampshire. 

1635. 

On the 22d day of April the council of Plymouth 
made a grant to Capt. John Mason, of lands " extend- 
ing from Naumkeag to Piscataqua, and sixty miles 
northwest-ward within the land, together with the 
south half of the Isles-of-Shoals.'^ This grant com- 
prehended all that was contained in his two former 
patents. In the month of June following, the Coun- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 23 

cil surrendered their charter to the king. It has 
been reported that Charles 1st, by charter dated 
August 19, 1635, confirmed to Captain John Mason 
the aforesaid tract of land, granted to him by the 
Council of Plymouth, by the name of the province 
of New-Hampshire. This royal charter cannot be 
found on record, and it is denied by some that it 
ever existed. By a letter from George Vaughan to 
Ambross Gibbins, it seems improbable that it ever 
did. 

Mason provided most liberally for his stewards 
and tenants. It appears by an inventory of the 
goods and implements belonging to his plantation at 
Piscataqua and Newichewannock, taken in July, 
that they had on hand a great abundance of arms, 
ammunition and military stores, and of clothing ; all 
sorts of smith's, cooper's, carpenter's, and mason's 
tools ; a quantity of naval stores and fishing gear, pro- 
visions, and cattle. The neat cattle were procured 
at Denmark, were of a large breed and yellow col- 
our ; they had been sent over three or four years 
since, and were the first cattle imported from Eu- 
rope into New-Hampshire. 

In September, Gorges sold to Mason a tract of 
land on the northeast side of the river Piscataqua, 
extending three miles in breadth, and following the 
course of the river from its mouth to its farthest 
head, including the saw-mills at Newichewannock- 
falls. 



24 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

But as Mason's prospects began to brighten, and 
whilst he was flattering himself with the hopes of 
increasing his fortune by the settlement of New- 
Hampshire, he was taken away by death. Mason 
was bold and enterprising, and after he had obtain- 
ed the grant of New-Hampshire, he advanced large 
sums of money to promote its settlement without 
receiving any immediate benefit. Perhaps had his 
life been spared, he might have enjoyed some small 
fruits of his labour, even if he had not amassed so 
great riches as he had expected. At any rate he 
was the principal means of the settlement of this 
place, and on that account his memory should be 
respected. 

He died the 26th of November, and by his will, 
made a few days before his death, after several de- 
vises, he gave to his grandson, Robert Tufton, his 
manor of Mason Hall, and to his grandson, John 
Tufton, the residue of his estate in New-Hampshire, 
requiring each of them to take the name of Mason. 
Captain Mason was never in this country himself. 
His estate in New- Hampshire was valued at ten 
thousand pounds sterling. 

1638. 

Mrs. Anne Mason, who was. executrix of Captain 
Mason's will, appointed Francis Norton her attor- 
ney, with general powers to take the management of 
the estate in New-Hampshire into his hands. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 25 

On the second of June, there was a severe shock of 
an earthquake. It appeared at first like distant 
thunder; as the sound approached, the earth began 
to tremble, and with so much violence, as to throw 
down dishes and plates, which stood upon the 
shelves ; many were afraid that their houses would 
fall. Harvard College may date its origin from this 
year. The General Court had, two years ago, made 
a grant of two hundred pounds for the support of a 
public school at Newtown. Reverend John Har- 
vard, minister of Charlestown, gave a great part of 
his estate, valued at about eight hundred pounds, for 
the same use. The General Court incorporated this 
seminary by the name of Harvard College, in honour 
of the donor. The name of the town was changed 
from Newtown to Cambridge. This was the first 

literary institution in the English Colonies, and all 

» 
were interested in its welfare, 

1639. 

Mrs. Mason soon found that the income received 
from the estate here, would not justify the expense 
incurred. She neglected to furnish supplies, and her 
agents and stewards made her no more remittances, 
but divided the goods and cattle among themselves. 
Many of the people left the plantations, and those 
who remained, kept possession of the buildings and 
lands, and claimed them as their own. 
4 



26 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1640. 

The inhabitants of Portsmouth, having been des- 
titute of any eflicient government from the time of 
its first settlement to the present period^ entered into 
a social contract to establish a government among 
themselves. They elected Francis Williams, Gov- 
ernor, and Ambross Gibbins and Thomas Warnerton, 
assistants. 

On the twenty -fifth of May, twenty of the inhab- 
itants, including the Governor and one of the assist- 
ants, made a deed of fifty acres of land for a glebe to 
Thomas Walford and Henry Sherburne, church war- 
dens, and their successors forever, as feoffees in trust. 
Twelve acres of this land is situated in the compact 
part of the town, and is bounded easterly on Court- 
street, southerly on land of Daniel Rogers, and the so- 
ciety of the Universalists, westerly by land of William 
Sheafe, Mrs. Elwyn, William Stavers, and George 
Simes ; and northerly by Congress-street. The re- 
mainder of the fifty acres is situated on the road lead- 
ing from the head of the north mill-pond to the plains. 
This land has been granted on long leases upon very 
small annual rents. The names of the subscribers to 
this deed, are Francis Williams, Governor, Ambross 
Gibbins, assistant, William Jones, Renald Fernald, 
John Crowther, Anthony Bracket, Michael Chather- 
ton, John Wall, Robert Puddington, Henry Sher- 
burne, John Landen, Henry Tayler, John Jones, 
William Berry, John Pickering, John Billing, John 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 27 

Wotten, Nicholas Row, Matthew Coe, William 
Palmer. It appeared by this deed that a par- 
sonage house and chapel were already erected on 
the premises. The parsonage house stood where 
John Goddard Esquire's house now stands. The 
chapel was furnished with one great bible, twelve 
service books, one pewter flaggon, one communion 
cup and cover of silver, two fine table-cloths, and 
two napkins, which had been sent over by Mason. 
The people were not puritanical in their religious 
sentiments, but retained their attachment to the 
Church of England. Governor Winthrop says, 
" some of them were professed enemies to the way 
of our churches." They made choice of Richard 
Gibson, an Episcopal clergyman, for their first par- 
son, and their worship was conducted agreeably to 
the ritual of the English Church. 

Mr. Gibson did not continue long at Portsmouth. 
Having given offence to the government of Massa- 
chusetts, he was summoned before the Court at Bos- 
ton ; but upon his submission, and in consideration 
of his being a stranger, and intending to leave the 
country, '' they discharged him without fine or pun- 
ishment." It does not appear what his offence was, 
for which he was obliged to answer. At the pres- 
ent day it would be considered as a very arbitrary 
measure for any court to summon a person, belonging 
to another government, to answer for an offence com- 
mitted without their jurisdiction, more especially as 
there then was a government established, whose 



28 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

courts had cognizance of every breach of the law. 
Hansard Knolles was the minister of Dover, but ma- 
ny of tlie people were desirous of removing him for 
immoral conduct. Thomas Larkham arrived from 
England about this time, and being a popular preach- 
er, the party in opposition to Knolles employed him 
as their minister. Knolles' friends were the most nu- 
merous, and they excommunicated Larkham. A riot 
ensued ; the parties armed themselves, and Lark- 
ham sent to Governor Williams for assistance, who 
immediately went to Dover with a company under 
arms, and arrested Underbill, the Governor and 
Knolles. Williams, acting as a magistrate, although 
without his own jurisdiction, tried tbem as rioters, 
and found them guilty ; and having fined them, 
obliged them to remove out of the government. 

1641. 

The settlements on Piscataqua river and its 
branches were formed into distinct governments, so 
that there were existing at the commencement of 
this year, four separate republics, independent of 
each other, namely : Portsmouth, Kittery, Dover, 
and Exeter. It had been long in agitation among 
the principal persons in these towns to unite with 
Massachusetts, and put themselves under their pro- 
tection. The government of Massachusetts, desi- 
rous of extending their jurisdiction over a territory 
which they thought was included in their charter, 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 29 

were willing to receive them. A negotiation took 
place between that colony, and the towns of Ports- 
mouth and Dover. On the fourteenth of April the 
terms of the un on were agreed on, and the contract 
was ^^ subscribed in the presence of the General 
Court by George Willys, Robert Saltonstall, William 
Whiting, Edward Holyoke, and Thomas Makepeace, 
in behalf of themselves and the other partners of 
the two patents." By this contract, Massachusetts 
was to have <« jurisdiction of government of the said 
people, dwelling or abiding within the limits of both 
the said patents, to be ruled and ordered in all caus- 
es, criminal and civil, as inhabitants, dwelling within 
the limits of Massachusetts' government, and to be 
subject to pay in cliurch and commonwealth, as the 
said inhabitants of Massachusetts' Bay do, and no 
other : and the freemen of the said two patents, to 
enjoy the like liberties as other freemen do within 
the said Massachusetts' government ; and that there 
shall be a court of justice kept within one of the two 
patents, which shall have the same power that the 
courts at Salem and Ipswich have." They were to 
send two deputies to the General Court. Exeter was 
not included in this contract, but was admitted into 
the union in September, the year following. Com- 
missioners w^ere sent to Piscataqua, "who appointed 
Francis Williams, Thomas Warnerton, and Ambross 
Gibbins of Portsmouth, and Edward Hilton, Thomas 
Wiggin, and William Waldron of Dover, as magis- 
trates, which appointments were confirmed by the 
General Court." 



80 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1642. 

By a law of Massachusetts, no freeman was allow- 
ed to vote in town- meeting, nor sit as a deputy in 
the General Court, unless he were a church memher. 
On the eighth of September this law was dispensed 
with, as to the towns in New-Hampshire. As there 
had not been any minister settled, nor any church 
formed in this place after Mr. Gibson's departure, 
it is not probable that many of the inhabitants were 
members of any church. This qualification there- 
fore was not required in the management of their 
town affairs, or for their deputies to obtain a seat in 
the General Court. 

In the month of December, the town invited Mr. 
James Parker of Weymouth, " a godly man, and a 
scholar,*' to be their minister. He consulted with 
several magistrates and elders of the churches in 
Massachusetts, and by their advice accepted the 
call. He came and taught among them through the 
winter, but was not ordained nor settled here. He 
afterwards removed to Barbadoes. 

1643. 

A new county was formed, which comprehended all 
the towns between Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers, 
namely : Salisbury, Hampton, Haverhill, Exeter, Do- 
ver, and Strawberry- Bank, and was called Norfolk. 
Salisbury was made the shire town. But Dover 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 31 

and Portsmouth, although belonging to the new 
county, had a separate jurisdiction ; and a court, 
composed of one or more of the magistrates or assist- 
ants of these towns, and commissioners, chosen by 
the General Court from the principal persons of each 
town, was held once or twice a year for the trial of 
causes, regulating their decisions by the laws of Mas- 
sachusetts. This was called the court of associates ; 
and their jurisdiction extended to causes, where the 
matter in dispute did not exceed twenty pounds. 
An appeal lay from their decisions to the board of 
assistants. An Inferior Court, consisting of three 
persons, was established in each town, with juris- 
diction over all causes of twenty shillings value, op 
Under. 

1644. 

Thomas Warnerton resided at the Great house 
until this year ; he now shipped a large quantity of 
goods and arms, which formerly belonged to Captain 
Mason, and carried them to Port Royal, where he 
sold them to the French. He was slain soon after- 
wards in a rencontre with the inhabitants. After 
Warnerton's death, Sampson Lane, who had been 
one of Mason's stewards, took possession of the Great 
house. There were attached to it about one thou- 
sand acres of land, consisting of marsh, meadow, 
planting, and pasture grounds, and mostly under 
improvement. 



33 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1645. 

Norton drove above an hundred head of oxen, 
which belonged to Mason's plantations, to Boston, 
and sold them there at twenty pounds sterling a 
head. He did not return to New-Hampshire, but 
abandoned the plantations there, and settled in 
Charlestown near Boston. 

No person was allowed to be held in slavery, ex- 
cept those who were taken prisoners in war, or 
were sentenced to servitude by some judicial court 
for an offence, for which by law they forfeited their 
liberty. Captain Smith, on a voyage to Guinea, sur- 
reptitiously brought off a negro, and sold him here 
as a slave to Mr. Williams. The General Court 
enquired into the matter, and Captain Smith and 
his crew confessed the fact. The Court thought 
proper to write to Mr. Williams, requiring him 
forthwith to send to them the negro, bought of Cap- 
tain Smith, that he may be sent home, which they 
were resolved to do without delay. And if he have 
any thing to allege why he should jiot return the 
negro to be disposed of by the Court, it will be ex- 
pected that he should forthwith make it appear, ei- 
ther by himself or his agent. 

1646. 

Lane, having resided nearly three years on the 
plantation at Strawberry-Bank, embarked for Eng- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 33 

land. He had beea engaged in navigation, and 
owned some shipping. Richard Cutt succeeded 
him in the occupation of the Great house. 

1647. 

Some where about this time, an alteration took 
place in the formation of the courts in Portsmouth 
and Dover. The associates were chosen by the in- 
habitants of both towns, in a joint meeting, at which 
their selectmen were present. These associates 
were united with the magistrates to constitute the 
court. Sometimes the General Court, by request of 
the inhabitants, appointed the associates, as they 
had formerly done. 

1648. 

The delusion respecting witchcraft made its ap- 
pearance this year. Margaret Jones, of Charlestown, 
was accused of being a witch. It was said she pos- 
sessed so much malignity, that if she touched a per- 
son in anger, however slightly, it produced convul- 
sions, or other disorders, attended with violent pains. 
Upon such testimony, she was convicted and execut- 
ed. This was the first execution for this offence 
in New-England. After her death, her husband 
determined to quit the country, and took passage 
for Barbadoes on board a ship, then lying in Charles 
River, with horses on board. The ship suddenly 
5 



34 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

began to roll, and it was feared she would overset. 
Jones, who was suspected of being the cause, was 
arrested and committed to gaol. After which, the 
ship ceased rolling, and rode quietly at anchor until 
she sailed. 

1649. 

Things, in themselves indifferent, have at times 
become important. Many innocent actions have 
been made criminal by the folly or superstition of 
mankind. The drinking of healths, a few years 
since, was prohibited by law, as a heathenish practice. 
This year wearing of long hair v;as condemned, as 
sinful. The Governor, Deputy Governor, and Ma- 
gistrates, entered into an association to prevent the 
growing evil. ** Forasmuch as the wearing of long 
hair, after the manner of ruffians and barbarous In- 
dians, has begun to invade New-England, contrary 
to the rule of God's word, which says it is a shame 
for a man to wear long hair, as also the commendable 
custom generally, of all the godly of our nation until 
within this few years : We, the magistrates, who 
have subscribed this paper (for the shewing of our 
own innocency in this behalf) do declare and man- 
ifest our dislike and detestation against the wearing 
of such long hair, as against a thing uncivil and 
unmanly, whereby men do deform themselves, and 
offend sober and modest men, and do corrupt good 
manners : We do; therefore, earnestly entreat all 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 35 

the elders of this jurisdiction (as often as they shall 
see cause) to manifest their zeal against it in their 
public administrations, and to take care that the 
members of their respective churches be not defiled 
therewith, that so, such as shall prove obstinate, and 
will not reform themselves, may have God and man 
to witness against them." 

1650. 

John Tufton, the grandson of Captain Mason, and 
the first heir named in his will, died in his infancy, 
and the estate in New-Hampshire descended, after 
the death of his mother, to his brother Robert Tuf- 
ton, who became of age this year. 

1652. 

Commissioners were chosen in town-meeting for 
the " ending of small causes," and the town appoint- 
ed the times when they should hold their courts at 
" Strawberry-Bank." 

This year the selectmen examined the old town 
books ; and what was not approved was crossed out, 
and what was approved, was left to be recorded in 
a new book. 

The common lands were granted by vote of the 
town ; and an excise was laid upon wines, which 
was paid to the town treasurer, by the persons li- 
censed to sell them. 



36 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Deeds were executed in presence of two witnesses, 
and recorded in the town records. 

Mrs. Mason sent over Joseph Mason, as her agent, 
to take charge of the estate here. He found Rich- 
ard Leader in possession of the lands at Newichewan- 
nock, and commenced actions against him before the 
court in the County of Norfolk. Doubts arose 
whether the lands in dispute were within the ju- 
risdiction of Massachusetts, and the question was 
referred to the General Court, who ordered a survey 
to be made of the northern boundaries of their 
patent. 

1653. 

A committee of the General Court, two surveyors 
and several Lidians for guides, went in search of 
the most northerly point of Merrimack river, which 
the Indians informed them, was at Aquedoctan, the 
outlet of Winnepissiogee lake. The latitude of this 
place was found by observation, to be 43 degrees, 40 
minutes, 12 seconds : to which they added three 
miles. They then sent two experienced seamen to 
find the same latitude on the eastern shore, who as- 
certained it to be on the north point of an island in 
Casco bay. A line drawn through these two points, 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, according to 
their construction of the charter, they determined 
to be their northern boundary, which included the 
whole of Mason's claim, and the greater part of 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 37 

Gorges'. The Court granted to the heirs of Mason, 
a quantity of land in lieu of what had been assigned 
him by Gorges and others, as a compensation for his 
disbursements and expenses. The agent saw no 
prospect of success, and therefore made no further 
attempt to recover any part of the estate, but re- 
turned to England. 

1655. 

At a town-meeting, held on the eleventh of April, 
the inhabitants "generally acknowledged themselves 
willing that Mr. Browne should continue their min- 
ister, as he had been, if he were so pleased ;" and at 
a meeting the tenth of July, ^^ It is ordered that 
Mr. Browne, our minister, is to give an account of 
what is his due from the inhabitants before this 
day." It is uncertain how long he had been preach- 
ing here, or how long he afterwards continued. 



1656. 

April 14th. At a town-meeting it is mentioned, 
that Mr. Sherburne hath promised to entertain Mr. 
Browne. The votes of the last year, and this memo- 
randum, are all that can be found respecting him. 

The inhabitants voted in town-meeting, on the 
twenty-seventh day of October, to give an invitation 
to Mr. Samuel Dudley, son of Thomas Dudley, the 



38 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Deputy Governor of Massachusetts, to be their min- 
ister, and to give him a salary of eighty pounds a 
year ; and appointed the selectmen a committee to 
present him the vote, and make a contract with him. 
They waited upon him the lOth of November, and 
presented him the vote of the town. He accepted 
the proposition, and agreed to visit them the next 
spring ; but it does not appear that he ever came. 
He was afterwards settled at Exeter, and died there 
in 1683, aged 77. 

The delusion respecting witchcraft, extended it- 
self generally throughout New-England : in a few 
instances it appeared in this t-own. Goodvvife Wal- 
ford was brought before the court of assistants for 
this offence, upon the complaint of Susannah Trim- 
mings. A recital of the testimony will shew how 
far a disordered imagination contributed to make a 
person believe she was bewitched ; and what degree 
of credulity was necessary, to fix the offence upon 
the person accused. Mrs. Trimmings testified, »' As 
I was going home on Sunday night, the 30th of 
March, I heard a rustling in the woods, which I 
supposed to be occasioned by swine, and presently 
there appeared a woman, whom I apprehended to 
be old Goodvvife Walford. She asked me to lend 
her a pound of cotton ; I told her I had but two 
pounds in the house, and I would not spare any to 
my mother. She said I had better have done it, for 
I was going a great journey, but should never come 
there. She then left me, and I was struck as with 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 39 

a clap of fire on the back ; and she vanished toward 
the water side, in my apprehension, in the shape of 
a cat. She had on her head a white linen hood, 
tied under her chin, and her waistcoat and petticoat 
were red, with an old green apron, and a black hat 
upon her head." Oliver Trimmings, her husband, 
said, " my wife came home in a sad condition. She 
passed by me with her child in her arms, laid the 
child on the bed, sat down on the chest, and leaned 
upon her elbow. Three times I asked her how she 
did. She could not speak. I took her in my arms, 
and held her up, and repeated the question. She 
forced breath, and something stopped in her throat, 
as if it would have stopped her breath. I unlaced 
her clothes, and soon she spake, and said. Lord have 
mercy upon me, this wicked woman will kill me. I 
asked her what woman. She said Goodwife Wal- 
ford. I tried to persuade her, it was only her weak- 
ness. She told me no, and related as above, that 
her back was as a flame of fire, and her lower parts, 
were, as it were, numb and without feeling. I 
pinched her, and she felt not. She continued that 
night, and the day and night following, very ill, and 
is still bad of her limbs, and complains still daily 
of it." 

Nicholas Rowe testified, <• that Jane Walford, 
shortly after she was accused, came to the deponent 
in bed, in the evening, and put her hand upon his 
breast, so that he could not speak, and was in great 
pain till the next day. By the light of the fire in 



40 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the next room, it appeared to be Goody Walford, 
but she did not speak. She repeated her visit 
about a week after, and did as before ; but said no- 
thing." 

Eliza Barton deposed, " that she saw Susannah 
Trimmings at the time she was ill, and her 
face was coloured and spotted with several col- 
ours. She told the deponent the story, who replied 
that it was nothing but her fantasy ; her eyes looked 
as if they had been scalded." 

John Puddington deposed, that " three years 
since, Goodwife Walford come to his mother's. She 
said that her own husband called her an old witch ; 
and when she came to her cattle, her husband would 
bid her begone, for she did overlook the cattle, 
which is as much as to say in our country, be- 
witching." 

Agnes Puddington deposes, that ^"^ on the 11th 
of April, the wife of W. Evans came to her house, 
and lay there all night ; and a little after sun- 
set the deponent saw a yellowish cat ; and Mrs. 
E. said she was followed by a cat, wherever she 
went. John came and saw a cat in the garden — 
took down his gun to shoot her ; the cat got up on 
a tree, and the gun would not take fire, and after- 
ward the cock would not stand. She afterwards 
saw three cats, — the yellow one vanished away on 
the plain ground ; she could not tell which way they 
went." 



ANNiU^S OF PORTSMOUTH. 41 

The first settlers were careful not to give titles to 
persons who had no claim to them. The degree of 
Esquire, was conferred on none but rulers and ma- 
gistrates, and very few were addressed by the title 
of Mr. There are instances, where persons have 
been degraded, or deprived of this title by sentence 
of a judicial court ; vvhich ordered that the defend- 
ant should hereafter be called by the name of 

and not Mr. as he formerly used to be. The common 
appellation between neighbours, was Goodman, and 
Good wife, or Goody. 

1657. 

On the first day of January, Henry Sherburne was 
chosen by the town, to be clerk of the County Court, 
and Richard Cutt to be an associate of the County 
Court. 

On the 27th day of August, the town empowered 
Brian Pendleton, John Cutt, Richard Cutt, William 
Seavey, and Henry Sherburne, the Selectmen, to 
build a new meeting-house : which they accordingly 
erected two or three rods to the southward of the 
mill-dam, on the crotch of the roads, leading to the 
pound, and Frame-point. 

The inhabitants voted to give a call to Mr. 
Woster to settle with them in the ministry, in case 
they could agree with him after he had made a visit 
and preached here. On the seventh of September, 
the Selectmen sent one of their number to make the 
6 



42 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

proposal to him. It is uncertain whether he ever 
preached here. 

1658. 

Joshua Moody began his ministerial labours in 
this town, the beginning of this year. He was at 
first supported by subscription, eighty-six persons 
having subscribed for that purpose. 

The town made a grant of the mill privilege at 
the outlet of the south creek to John Pickering, up- 
on condition that he should make and keep in repair 
a way for foot passengers over the dam, in going to 
and from meeting. 

There was a great earthquake this year. 

1659. 

February 21st. The selectmen granted " to Mr. 
John Cutt full liberty to set up a saw-mill and corn- 
mill on the creek leading up to the fresh marsh. 
He had the privilege of cutting timber on the com- 
mon, for the saw-mill, both pine and oak, or any 
other timber. He was to grind corn for the town 
at all times, when required ; and he was allowed the 
term of five years for building of said mills." Mr. 
Cutt erected a saw- mill and grist-mill at the head of 
the creek within the limited time. The saw-mill stood 
below the bridge, west of the place where Mr. Ham's 
bouse now stands, and the water was brought to 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 43 

it across the road. Gondolas could come to the foot 
of the mill to take away the boards and lumber. 
The grist-mill was built at the dam, which was made 
across the fresh stream just above the place to which 
the tide flows. The remains of the dam are very 
apparent at this day. 

1660. 

The meeting-house or chapel, which had been 
erected on the glebe land, was disused after the 
new one was built at the south end. The town de- 
termined to alter it into a dwelling-house for the 
use of the minister, and Richard Cutt was appoint- 
ed, by the selectmen, to superintend the work. 

On the 5th of March, the town voted, in a formal 
manner, to settle Mr. Moody with them in the min- 
istry. 

When Charles the second ascended the throne, 
Robert Tufton, who had taken the name of Mason, 
entertained some hopes of recovering his property 
in New-Hampshire, and petitioned the king, com- 
plaining of the " encroachments of the Massachu- 
setts' Colony upon his lands, their making grants, 
and giving titles to the inhabitants, and thereby 
dispossessing him, and keeping him out of his 
right," and prayed for redress. The king referred 
the petition to Sir Geoffry Palmer, the Attorney- 
General, who made his report on the 8th of Novem- 
ber, that " Robert Mason, grandson, and heir to 



44 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Captain John Mason, had a good and legal title to 
the province of New- Hampshire." 

1661. 

Mr. George Walton claimed the land at Fort- 
point, and commenced building upon it. He pre- 
tended, that he had it from Captain Neal, and had 
planted there some years since, but produced no 
deed or written title. The selectmen " forewarned 
him to forbear building or fencing on the same," 
because that point of land had been appropriated 
for erecting fortifications for the defence of the 
harbour. The selectmen, upon application, grant- 
ed liberty to Captain Pendleton to set up his wind- 
mill upon the Fort-point, towards the beach, be- 
cause the mill is of such common and public use. 

1662. 

September 25th. At a town-meeting, " ordered 
that a cage be made, or some other means invented 
by the selectmen, to punish such as sleep, or take 
tobacco on the Lord's day out of the meeting, in the 
time of the public exercise." " Voted, that who- 
ever shall kill a wolf within the bounds of this town, 
and shall bring some of the next neighbours, where 
such wolf is killed, to testify it was done in this 
town's bounds, and shall nayle the head of such wolf 
killed, upon the meetinghouse, he shall have five 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 45 

pounds for his paynes, to be paid by the treasurer, 
the proof thereof being made to the treasurer in 
being." 

1664. 

April 18. The town empower the selectmen to 
repair the meeting-house, and to hang the bell, and 
to do whatever other finishing work, thereunto be- 
longing, they shall see needful. 

1665. 

The government of Massachusetts were continually 
making encroachments, not only by extending their 
jurisdiction, but by granting lands within the bounda- 
ries of New-Hampshire. Mason and his heirs com- 
plained of this conduct, and Robert Mason made a rep- 
resentation of it to the King, who appointed Colonel 
Richard Nichols, Sir Robert Carr, knight, George 
Cartwright and Samuel Maverick, Esquires, Com- 
missioners, with full powers " to visit the several 
colonies in New-England, to examine and determine 
all complaints and appeals in matters civil, military, 
and criminal ; provide for the peace and security of 
the country, according to their good and sound dis- 
cretion, and to such instructions as they should receive 
from the king, and to certify him of their proceed- 
ings." The government of Massachusetts regarded 
the appointment of these commissioners, with such 



46 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

powers as they were invested with, as a violation of 
their charter, and would not submit to their authori- 
ty. The Commissioners, excepting Colonel Nichols, 
came here in June, and were more favourably re- 
ceived than they had been in Boston. There were 
many, besides those attached to Mason's interest, 
who were disaffected to the government of Mas- 
sachusetts, and cheerfully embraced the opportunity 
of effecting a change : others were strongly opposed 
to a separation. The Commissioners examined into 
Mason's claims, but came to no decision respecting 
them. They informed the inhabitants of this town, 
that they would release them from the government 
of Massachusetts, whose jurisdiction did not extend 
here. They appointed Justices of the Peace, and 
other officers of government, among whom, was 
Abraham Corbett, who undertook to act by virtue 
of this appointment, but, never having been com- 
missioned by government, the General Court declar- 
ed his offence to be a high misdemeanor, fined him 
five pounds, and committed him, until it was paid. 
Corbett was irritated by these proceedings, and, at 
the instigation of the Commissioners, drew up a pe- 
tition, which he prevailed upon a number of the 
inhabitants to sign, in which they complained of the 
usurpation of Massachusetts, and prayed to be re- 
leased from it. Those, who had refused to sign the 
petition, applied to the General Court for advice 
and assistance. The Court appointed a committee 
of three persons to enquire into the subsisting diffi- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 47 

Gulties and report to them, that they might redress 
the grievances. The committee came to this town, 
assembled the inhabitants, and enquired into their 
complaints. The majority of the people denied that 
there was any cause for complaint, declared the ful- 
lest confidence in the government, and their satisfac- 
tion with its administration. — The General Court 
issued a warrant, which was signed by the Secreta- 
ry, against Corbett " for his tumultuous and sedi- 
tious practices against government ;" upon which 
he was apprehended, and being examined before the 
Governor and magistrates, ^< was adjudged guilty of 
sedition, and of exciting others to discontent with 
the government and laws, and of keeping a disor- 
derly house of entertainment, for which oifences, he 
was sentenced to find sureties for his peaceable be- 
haviour and obedience to the laws : he was prohib- 
ited from retailing liquors " disabled from holding 
any ofiice in the town or Commonwealth, during the 
pleasure of the Court ; and obliged to pay a fine of 
twenty pounds, and five pounds for the costs of 
prosecution.'' 

1666. 

Whilst the Commissioners were in this town, they 
received instructions from the King to have the har- 
bours fortified ; in consequence of which, they no- 
tified to the inhabitants to meet and adopt measures 
to carry his Majesty's orders into execution. As 



48 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

soon as the Governor and Council were informed of 
these proceedings of the Commissioners, they sent 
two officers to New- Hampshire to forbid the towns 
to meet on their peril, or to obey the Commission- 
ers. But that they might not appear to dispute the 
Royal authority, the Governor and Council appoint- 
ed a committee to examine the ground, and deter- 
mine upon the most suitable place for a fort. They 
made their report, that the neck of land on the east- 
ward of the Great-Island, where a small fort had 
been already built, taking in the Great Rock, and 
from thence all the easterly part of the island, was 
the most suitable place ; which report was accepted. 
The fortification was ordered to be erected there. 
Richard Cutt, Esquire, was appointed Captain, and 
the men were taken from the companies at Great- 
Island and Kittery-Point, who were excused from all 
other military duty. 

The Commissioners did not accomplish any one 
object of their mission in Massachusetts, or in this 
province. The government of Massachusetts open- 
ly opposed them, and they made an unfavourable re- 
port to the King of the treatment they had received. 
Colonel Nichols was of a mild, pleasant disposition, and 
his courteous deportment gained him the affections of 
the people. He was Governor of New York, and, 
during his continuance in office, *< kept up a friendly 
correspondence with the Governor and Company of 
Massachusetts." The other Commissioners were of 
a very different character. Sir Robert Carr was 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 4^ 

very turbulent and arbitrary, and the difficulties, 
which arose between the government and the Com- 
missioners, were principally owing to him, and he 
was seconded in all his measures by Cartwright. 
The violence of their proceedings rendered them 
odious to the people. They were recalled by the 
King. Nichols remained in the country. Carr 
went first to Delaware, and thence to England. He 
arrived at Bristol the last of May, 1667, and died 
the next day. Cartwright was taken by the Dutch 
on his homeward-bound passage. He had taken 
minutes of the proceedings of the commissioners and 
of the opposition they met with ; but he lost all his 
papers at the time he was captured, and could never 
recover them, which deprived him of the opportu- 
nity of making so general a complaint as he intend- 
ed. Maverick had resided in this country from its 
first settlement, and had always been in opposition 
to government. He went to England with coni- 
plaints to the King, and solicited the appointment 
of commissioners to settle the disputes. He was en- 
tirely subservient to the others. 

After the return of the conjmissioners, Massachu- 
setts again peaceably exercised jurisdiction over the 
towns in New-Hampshire, as they had formerly done, 
and the people appeared to be satisfied with the 
government. " At a general town-meeting, on the 
19th of June, for the better carrying on the fortifi- 
cations at Fort- Point, it was consented unto, and vot- 
ed, that every dweller and liver in this town above 
7 



50 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the age of sixteen years, whether householder, child; 
servant, or any other, residing in the town, shall, 
and do hereby promise to work at the same, one 
whole week, between this and the last of October 
next ensuing ; and shall appear upon such days, as 
they shall have notice given them from time to time, 
until they have accomplished their several weeks' 
work, and to be allowed out of their subscriptions, 
three shillings per day, and to be at the fort by 
seven o'clock in the morning, and to give over at six 
in the evening, to begin on the Great Island, and so 
round by Sandy beach, and thence through the 
whole town." 

1669. 

The people of New-Hampshire had been united 
so long with Massachusetts in their political con- 
cerns, that tiiey had contracted the same habits, 
and were generally influenced by the same princi- 
ples. Harvard College was the only literary insti- 
tution in the country, and every friend to learning 
was desirous of promoting its interest. It became 
necessary to erect a new building for the accommo- 
dation of the students, and a general collection was 
made for the purpose. Subscriptions were opened 
in many places. The inhabitants of this town sub- 
scribed sixty pounds, which sum they engaged to pay 
annually for seven years, to the overseers of the Col- 
lege. Dover gave thirty-two pounds, and Exeter, 
ten pounds for the same purpose. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 51 

1671. 

Although Joshua Moody had regularly preached 
here since the year 1638, and the town had voted, 
in 1660, to settle him as their minister, he was not 
ordained, nor was a church collected here until this 
year. Mr. Moody has given a very particular ac- 
count of these proceedings, in his church records. 

<< Portsmouth, N. E. Anno 1671. After many 
serious endeavours, which had been used by the 
then minister of the place, since the pastor of the 
church there, in public, and by several of the in- 
habitants in private, the Lord, without whose pres- 
ence and blessing, man builds but in vain, was pleas- 
ed at length to lay the foundation of an house, for 
himself in this place, of the beginning and progress 
whereof, here follows a brief but true account. 

^' In the winter-time of the foregoing year, viz. 
1670, there were several meetings, together of the 
minister, with several of the inhabitants, who were 
members of other congregations in the country, and 
by Providence settled inhabitants in Portsmouth 
to discourse and confer about that great work and 
necessary duty of entering into church fellowship, 
that themselves might enjoy all the ordinances of 
the Lord's house, and their little ones also might be 
laid near God's altars, and brought up under the in- 
struction and discipline of his house. Nor could 
they, that were members of other churches, any 
longer satisfy themselves to live without the enjoy- 



B2 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ment of tliese edifying and strengthening ordinances, 
that their souls had, in some measure, formerly tast- 
ed the good of, though now for some years, heen 
kept from. Others also, well affected to the work, 
professed their longings after those fat and marrovv- 
ed things in God's house, and their readiness to join 
with them in helping to build, if they should be 
found fit for the same. 

'^ Hereupon, several assembled in private, and 
sought the Lord by fasting and prayer, that he 
would discover to us a right way, there being ma- 
ny fears and discourtigements before us, for our- 
selves and our little ones, and we hope we may say 
he was intreated of us, as the event hath in some 
measure, blessed be his name, made manifest. 

" It was agreed that those, which were in full 
communion with other congregations abroad, should 
acquaint the respective churches, to which they did 
belong, with the motion on foot, and desire their ad- 
vice, approbation, countenance, and prayers therein, 
which was accordingly done. 

** There was a meeting appointed in a private 
house, wherein all that had given in their names 
for the work, were to assemble, and to read each to 
other, a reason of the hope that was in them, by 
giving account of their knov^ledge and experience, 
that so they might be satisfied one in another, and 
be capable of joining together as members of the 
same body. Several days were spent in this exer- 
cise, to the mutual refreshing and endearing of the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 53 

speaker, and to the awakening and warning of oth- 
ers of the neighbours, that were, as they had liberty 
to be, present at these exercises. 

^^ In fine, there was another meeting to enquire 
whether all, that had made relations, were so satisfi- 
ed, one in another, as to their relations and conver- 
sations, as that they could with freedom of spirit 
join in a body together, and unite in the same socie- 
ty according to the rules of Christ. What grounds 
of scruples lay upon the spirits of any, with refer- 
ence to one or other of the fore-mentioned company, 
was lovingly and plainly propounded, and satisfac- 
tion was ingenuously tendered on the one party and 
accepted by the other. Furthermore, we did dis- 
course of, and discover our apprehensions and per- 
suasions concerning the order and discipline of the 
house of God. And there was a unanimous consent 
unto what had been publicly delivered in many 
sermons in the latter end of the year 1670, and the 
beginning of the year 1671, from Ezekiel, xliii. 10, 
11, 12, about the laws, ordinances, and forms of the 
house, with the goings out thereof, and the comings 
in thereof. Of such high concernment did, and do 
we account it to be for peace and edification of the 
\vhole, that both pastor and people should in these 
matters, at least for the substance, and as near as 
may be in mere circumstantials also, speak the same 
things. 

" Hereupon, there were some appointed to ac- 
quaint the civil authority, according to the law of 



54 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the country, with what was thought on among us, 
that by the good liking and encouragement of the 
same, we might make an orderly and comfortable 
procedure in the work before us. Which being 
done, several churches were sent to, and entreated 

to send their elders and messengers upon the 

which was appointed for the gathering of the church 
and ordination of the officers therein. The church 
of Cambridge was sent to, because the pastor did 
belong to that church. They brought his discis- 
sion. Also the church at Ipswich, Rowley, and 
Hampton. They met accordingly, and Governor 
Leverett came also, and several magistrates with 
him. For no church could settle a minister without 
the approbation of the Governor and rulers. 

<< He, that was appointed pastor, preached in the 
morning out of Ezekiel, xlviii. ult. After sermon 
some intermission was made, and on their meeting 
again, the pastor with all those, who were to be 
beginners of the new church, made their relations, 
and those who were members of other churches, had 
their dismissions, and all made their relations, wheth- 
er members or non-members, and they were approv- 
ed by the messengers of the churches, and embodied 
into a church by an explicit covenant. Then the 
pastor was ordained after the unanimous vote of the 
church for the choice of him, and liberty given to 
all the congregation to object, if they had ought to 
say. He was ordained by several of the elders at 
the desire of the church. Mr. Cabot giving hira his 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 55 

charge, and Mr. Wheelwright, the right hand of fel- 
lowship. Then the pastor ordained Samuel Haines, 
deacon, with imposition of hand and prayer. A 
psalm was sung, and the congregation dismissed by 
the pastor, with a prayer and blessing.'' 

There were nine persons, who entered into cove- 
nant and composed the first church, namely, Joshua 
Moody, John Cutt, Richard Cutt, Elias Stileman, 
Richard Martyn, Samuel Haynes, James Pendleton, 
John Fletcher, and John Tucker. 

The Selectmen agree with William Cotton to 
fence the ground for a training-field, and to clear off 
all the trees and bushes from the same. 

N. B. This is the same ground, which the town 
conveyed to the south parish in 1809, and is now 
occupied by the Rev. Doctor Parker. 

July 24. The Selectmen agree with John Pick- 
ering to build a cage twelve feet square, with stocks 
within it, and a pillory on the top, a convenient 
space from the west end of the meeting-house. 

1672. 

March 12. Voted, that if any shall smoke tobac- 
co in the meeting-house at any public meeting, he 
shall pay a fine of five shillings for the use of the 
town. 

The General Court at Boston, appointed Elias 
Stileman, John Gilman, and Samuel Dalton, a com- 
mittee to settle boundaries between this town and 
Hampton. 



56 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

The Court likewise ^'•' declares that they shall be 
willing to grant to Portsmouth land for a village, 
when they shall declare to this Court the place 
where they desire it." 

1673. 

The town voted and consented to assume, and 
carry into effect the engagement made by individu- 
als of the town, in the year 1669, to pay sixty 
pounds annually, for seven years, for the benefit of 
Harvard College. 

John Pickering, in a general town-meeting, held 
the 13th of March, ^^ did voluntarily and freely for 
himself and heirs forever, surrender to the town an 
highway of two rods broad, through his land, com- 
monly called Pickering's neck, with liberty to pass 
over his dam, both for horse and foot, to and from 
the meeting-house, and this to lie forever for a pub- 
lic highway." In consideration whereof ^' the town, 
though they believe and know that it was their own 
before, yet to gratify the said John Pickering, and 
to prevent what trouble might otherwise arise, do 
freely give him fifty acres of land in some conven- 
ient place, where the town hath any common land." 
Pickering engaged to build a sufficient bridge six 
feet wide over his mill-dam, for the sum of fifty 
shillings, and to maintain the said bridge during his 
natural life, for twenty shillings a year. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 57 

1675. 

A war broke out between the Indians and the 
Plymouth Colony. The tribe of Womponoags, who 
were their nearest neighbours, commenced the hos- 
tilities, and from the name of their sachem, it was 
called Philip's war. But it soon became general, 
and all the English settlements from Plymouth to 
Kennebeck, were involved in it. A circumstance 
took plape, which incited the eastern Indians more 
readily to join in it. A sachem named Squando 
resided near the river Saco. He was a person of 
great consequence, not only with his own tribe, but 
also with all the neighbouring Indians : He possess- 
ed, as they supposed, a power of divination and en- 
chantment, and took the lead in their religious ex- 
ercises, which gave him great influence among them. 
Some sailors met his squaw, who had her infant with 
her on the river in a canoe, which they overset for 
sport. The child sunk, and the mother, diving to 
the bottom, brought it up alive ; but it died soon 
after, and they concluded its death was caused by 
this conduct of the sailors. Squando resented the 
insult very highly, and exerted himself to provoke 
the Indians to war against the English. Portsmouth 
was subject to constant alarms ; business was sus- 
pended, and every one was obliged to provide for 
the safety of himself and family. The inhabit- 
ants generally left their habitations, and collected 
together in some house, suitable for a garrison, 
8 



58 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

where they kept guard continually, to prevent 
being surprised by the enemy. The neighbouring 
towns were greater sufferers than Portsmouth. A 
party of Indians, about the last of October, came 
down the river, killing and plundering every per- 
son they found off their guard, till they came oppo- 
site to this place, when some cannon being fired at 
them, they retreated precipitately and fled to the 
swamps. 

Whilst these difficulties and distresses were pre- 
vailing, the inhabitants were alarmed with the ex- 
pectation of new troubles and embarrassments, in 
consequence of some proceedings then taking place 
in England. Robert Mason had again renewed his 
claim to New-Hampshire, and petitioned the King 
to be reinstated in his property there. The King 
submitted the question to Sir William Jones, his 
Attorney-General, and to Sir Francis Winnington, 
his Solicitor-General, who reported, ^' That John 
Mason, Esquire, grandfather to the petitioner, by 
virtue of several grants from the Council of New- 
England, under their common seal, was instated in 
fee in sundry great tracts of land in New-England, 
by the name of New- Hampshire, and that the peti- 
tioner, being heir at law to the said John, had a 
good and legal title to said land. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 59 

1676. 

In consequence of the opinion of the Attorney 
and Solicitor-General upon Mason's petition, the 
lords of trade and plantations, sent Edward Ran- 
dolph, a relation of Mason, to New-England, to 
examine into the state of affairs there. After hav- 
ing delivered to the government of Massachusetts, a 
citation to send over agents to answer to Mason's 
complaint, he came to Portsmouth in July, and pub- 
lished the letter from Mason to the inhabitants, 
claiming the territory of New-Hampshire as his 
property. This letter excited great alarm among 
the people, and on the 1st of September they held a 
town- meeting, at which they appointed John Cutt 
and Richard Martyn, Esquires, and Captains Daniel 
and Stileman, to draft a petition to the King for ji 
redress of their grievances. They stated, that they 
had bona fide purchased their lands of the Indians, 
had brought them from a stale of nature, under cul- 
tivation, at a great expence, and prayed for relief 
against Mason's claim. Which petition they for- 
warded to the King. 

The Penobscot tribe of Indians sent Mogg, one 
of their chiefs, to the English settlement with 
proposals of peace. He came to Portsmouth and 
brought with him two men. Fryer and Kendall, who 
belonged to this town, and had been taken on board 
a vessel at the eastward. Mogg was sent to Boston, 
where articles of peace were agreed upon and sign- 



60 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ed the sixth of November, by the Governor and 
magistrates on the one part, and Mogg on the otli- 
er : and the peace was afterward ratified by the 
sachem, Madokawando. 

1677. 

This peace vi^as of short duration, and several of 
the Narraganset Indians being found among the 
eastern tribes, it was suspected that their design 
was to renew the war and ruin the fishery. In 
addition to this, Mogg, who was a hostage for the 
performance of the articles of the treaty on the part 
of the Indians, being permitted to go to some neigh- 
bouring tribes to persuade them to deliver up their 
captives, did not return again, although he had en- 
gaged to be back in three days. Some gentlemen 
in Portsmouth represented to the government at 
Boston the danger to which they were exposed, and 
they sent off a party of two hundred men, under 
command of Major Waldron, to protect the eastern 
settlements. This detachment sailed the beginning 
of February, touched at several ports, and had seve- 
ral slight skirmishes with the Indians. The Major 
proceeded as far as Kennebeck, where he built a 
fort and left forty men to defend it, under command 
of Captain Sylvanus Davis, and returned to Boston 
the 11th of March, without losing a man, having in 
this expedition killed thirteen of the enemy. The 
fort at Kennebeck did not answer a verv valuable 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 61 

purpose, a number of the garrison had been surpris- 
ed and taken or killed, and the remainder of them 
were brought to Portsmouth. The inhabitants were 
at this time in continual alarm from the enemy, who 
were scattered through the outskirts of the town. 
On the sixteenth of April, they burned the house of 
John Kennison, at Greenland, and killed him. A 
young woman was captured at Rawlings' house, but 
she made her escape and came to Cocheco. On Sun- 
day morning, the 27th of May, a party of twenty, con- 
ducted by Simon, one of the western Indians, who 
had been confined in Dover the last year, but broke 
gaol and escaped, surprised six of the friendly In- 
dians, whom they found drunk in the woods, a small 
distance from the town ; they continued round the 
town till night, and then crossed the river at Long- 
Reach, and proceeded through Kittery towards 
Wells. The Indians continued their depredations 
through the summer without meeting much opposi- 
tion, and had an opportunity of gratifying their 
revenge upon the eastern settlements, which were 
greatly reduced by the war. 

The government of Massachusetts appointed Wil- 
liam Stoughton, who was afterwards Lieutenant 
Governor, and Peter Bulkley, then speaker of the 
house of deputies, agents to oppose the claim of 
Mason, and defend against his complaint. On their 
arrival in England, the Chief Justices of the King's 
Bench and Common Pleas, with a committee of the 
Privy Council, were appointed to hear the parties. 



62 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

The agents in behalf of the Colony disclaimed all 
title to lands claimed by Mason, and to the jurisdic- 
tion of the territory lying three miles northward of 
the river Merrimack, to follow the course of the 
river so far as that extended. The Chief Justices 
and Lords reported, that as to the right of soil 
claimed by Mason, they could not determine ; the 
ter-tenants not having been summoned, the pro- 
per parties w^ere not before them : and that Mason 
had not the right of government over the territory 
he claimed, and that the four towns of Portsmouth, 
Dover, Exeter, and Hampton, were not within the 
bounds of Massachusetts. Which report was ac- 
cepted and confirmed by the King in Council, the 
20th of July ; ** and all parties were ordered to 
acquiesce therein and contribute what lies in them, 
to the punctual and due performance of the said 
report as there shall be occasion." 

1678. 

Although the Indians had been successful the last 
campaign, they were willing this spring to make 
peace. Major Shapleigh, of 'Kittery, Captain Cham- 
pernoon and Mr. Fryer, of Portsmouth, were ap- 
pointed commissioners to agree with Squando, and 
the other chiefs, upon the terms on which it should 
be established. They met at Casco for the purpose, 
and the treaty was signed on the twelfth of April, 
in which sit was stipulated, that the settlers might 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 63 

return to their habitations and occupy them without 
molestation, on condition that they should annually 
pay the Indians one peck of corn for each family, 
and one bushel for Major Pendleton, who possessed 
a large estate. However humiliating it might 
appear, to be obliged to pay this tribute, it was 
thought better to submit to it, than to leave their 
settlements, which it was in the power of the In- 
dians to compel them to do. This treaty put an 
end to a distressing war, which had existed three 
years, and had greatly reduced the number of the 
inhabitants ; and all the captives, which remained in 
the custody of the Indians, were restored to their 
friends. 

1679. 

Randolph returned to England after a short resi- 
dence in this country, and confirmed the several 
articles of Mason's complaint against the govern- 
ment of Massachusetts, with many exaggerations. 
Whereupon it was determined by the King, in 
Council, to erect New-Hampshire into a separate 
government under the jurisdiction of a President 
and Council to be appointed by the King. Accord- 
ingly, on the 18th of September, a commission pas- 
sed the great seal appointing John Cutt of Ports- 
mouth, President, to continue in ofiice one year, or 
until another should be appointed to succeed him. 
Richard Martyn, William Vaughan, and Thomas 



64 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Daniel, of Portsmouth, John Oilman of Exeter, 
Christopher Hussey of Hampton, and Richard Wal- 
dron of Dover, were to be of the Council, with pow- 
er to elect three others to be added to their number. 
The President had authority to appoint one of the 
Council his deputy, to preside in his absence. The 
President, or his deputy, and five counsellors, to be 
a quorum. The President and Council were con- 
stituted a court of judicature, with civil and crimin- 
al jurisdiction, reserving in certain cases a right of 
appeal to the King ; they were to appoint civil and 
military officers, to issue writs for calling an assem- 
bly, who with them were empowered to enact laws 
subject to a revision by the King ; on the death of 
the President, his deputy to succeed him ; and 
when a Counsellor shall die, the remainder to elect 
another, and send over his name with the name of 
two other suitable persons, that the King might ap- 
point one of the three. 

The King engaged to continue the privilege of an 
assembly, unless from the inconvenience attending 
it, he should see cause to alter. This was the only 
charter ever granted to New-Hampshire. 

1680. 

This commission was received at Portsmouth the 
first of January, and the several persons therein ap- 
pointed were qualified, by taking the oaths, on the 
22d of the same month. They elected three per- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. €5 

sons to fill the Council, agreeably to the direction in 
the commission, namely? Elias Stileman of Great- 
Island, which was then a part of this town, Samuel 
Dalton of Hampton, and Job Clements of Dover. 
The President nominated Richard Waldron for his 
deputy. Martyn was appointed Treasurer, and 
Stileman Secretary. The President and Council 
issued writs to the four towns of Portsmouth, Dover, 
Hampton, and Exeter, designating the qualified vo- 
ters in each by name, requiring them to choose suita- 
ble persons to represent ihem in the General Assem- 
bly, and each voter was obliged to take the oath of 
allegiance. Portsmouth at this time had 71 voters, 
Dover 61, Hampton 57^ and Exeter 20. Each town 
sent three representatives, except Exeter, which sent 
only two. The representatives of Portsmouth were 
Robert Elliot, Philip Lewis, and John Pickering. 
<^ The Assembly met in this town on the 16th of 
March and was opened with prayer, and a sermon, 
by the Rev. Mr. Moody." One of the first arts of 
the General Assembly was to address the following 
letter " to the honourable Governor and Council of 
the Massachusetts' Colony, to be communicated to 
the General Court humbly present in Boston." 

" Much Honoured — The late turn of Providence 
made amongst us, by the all ordering Being, hath 
given occasion for this present application, wherein we 
crave leave, as we are in duty bound — 1st, Thank- 
fully to acknowledge your care for us and kindness 
while we dwelt under your shadow, owning our- 
9 



66 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

selves deeply obliged that you were pleased upon 
our earnest request and supplication to take us un- 
der your government, and ruled us well whilst we 
so remained, so that we cannot give the least counte- 
nance to those reflections that have been cast upon 
you, as if you had dealt injuriously with us. 

2dly. That no dissatisfaction with your govern- 
ment, but merely our submission to Divine Provi- 
dence, to his Majesty's commands, to whom we 
owe allegiance, without any seeking of our own, or 
desire of change was the only cause of our com- 
plying with that present separation from you that 
we are now under; but should have heartily re- 
joiced if it had seemed good to the Lord and his 
Majesty, to have settled us in the same capacity 
as formerly. And withal we hold ourselves bound 
to signify, that it is our most unfeigned desire 
that such a mutual correspondence betwixt us 
may be settled as may tend to the glory of God, 
the honour of his Majesty, whose subjects we all 
are, and the promoting of the common interest and 
defence against the common enemy : that thereby 
our hands be strengthened, being of ourselves weak 
and few in number, and that if there be oppor- 
tunity to be any wise serviceable unto you, we may 
shew how ready we are, thankfully to embrace the 
same. Thus wishing the presence of God to be 
with you in all your administrations, and craving 
the benefit of your prayers and endeavours for a 
blessing upon the heads and hearts of us who are 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 67 

separated from our brethren. We subscribe 

John Cutt, President. 

With consent of the Council and General As- 
sembly." 

From this it appears how very reluctantly they 
consented to the separation from Massachusetts, and 
nothing could have induced the President or Coun- 
cil to have accepted their appointment (which was 
made without their knowledge) but his Majesty's ex- 
press command, which they conscientiously thought 
themselves obliged to obey. Their commission re- 
quired ^^ that all excuses set apart, they fail not to 
assemble," and undertake the duties of their respec- 
tive offices. 

A court of inferior jurisdiction was established at 
Portsmouth, Dover, and Hampton ; from each of 
which an appeal lay to the President and Council, 
who had original as well as appellate jurisdiction, 
criminal and civil, and who tried their causes 
through the intervention of a jury when either 
party desired it. 

Randolph had been appointed by the King col- 
lector of the customs for New-England. On the 
22d of March he seized a vessel belonging to this 
place, under pretence of a breach of the acts of 
trade and navigation. The master, Mark Hunking, 
brought an action against him, before the President 
and Council, and recovered judgment for thirteen 
pounds damage and cost. Randolph appointed Cap- 
tain Walter Barefoote deputy collector, for this 



68 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

port, who advertized " that all vessels should be 
entered and cleared with him." For attempting 
to execute an office, not derived from the constitut- 
ed authorities of the province, he was indicted on 
the 24th of March before the President and Council, 
and found guilty, and sentenced to pay a fine of ten 
pounds, and stand committed till sentence was per- 
formed. 

Robert Mason, who claimed the territory of New- 
Hampshire, arrived from England on the 30th of 
December, with a writ of mandamus from the King 
commanding the President and Council to admit 
him one of the Council. 

Richard Chamberlayne was appointed by royal 
authority secretary of the Province in the place of 
Elias Stileman. 

" Taxes were commonly paid in lumber or pro- 
visions at stated prices, and whoever paid them in 
money was abated one third part. 

The prices for this year were as follows : 

Merchantable white pine boards 30,s. per M. 

White oak pipe staves 3/. per M. 

Red oak ditto 30*. per M. 

Red oak hhd. staves 25*. per M. 

Indian corn 3*. per bushel. 

Wheat 5s. per bushel. 

Malt 4*. per bushel. 

Silver was rated at 65. Scl. per oz." 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 69 

1681. 

Before the change of the government, the King 
had required jMason to relinquisli all demands he 
might have for rents, against the inhabitants of 
New- Hampshire prior to the 24th of June 1679, 
and made him engage not to molest any of them in 
their possessions, provided they would pay him six- 
pence in the pound, according to the just and true 
yearly value of the houses and lands possessed by 
them. On his arrival here he took his seat at the 
Counril-board, and assumed the title of Lord Pro- 
prietor. He made great exertions through his 
agents, to obtain leases of the inhabitants upon 
the stipulated terms, but without much success. 
His failure irritated him, and he threatened to sell 
their houses and lands for the rents. This excited 
a great clamour against him, and the people appli- 
ed for protection to the President and Council, who 
issued a writ of prohibition against him. Mason 
refused to meet the Council when summoned, mutu- 
al recriminations passed between them, and being 
quite dissatisfied with the reception he met with, 
and disappointed in his hopes of establishing his 
fortune, he returned to England on the 27th day of 
March. 

President Cutt, being considerably advanced in 
years, and very infirm, died on the 5th of April. 
He was a native of Wales, and with his brothers, 
Robert and Richard, came to this country previous 



70 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

to the year 1646. John settled in this town, and 
became a very respectable and opulent merchant. 
Richard settled at the Isle-of- Shoals and carried on 
the fisheries there. He afterwards removed to this 
place, and lived in the Great House at the bottom 
of Pitt Street. Robert went first to the Island of 
Barbadoes in the West-Indies, and after a short re- 
sidence there, he came to this town, and lived at 
Great-Island. He afterwards removed to Kittery 
where he established a ship-yard, and carried on the 
business of ship-building very extensively. During 
the life of President Cutt, the inhabitants of this 
town were chiefly settled at the South-End near the 
Point of Graves. The upper part, which was the 
Bank, was principally owned by him, his brother 
Richard, Major William Vaughan, and Richard 
Waldron, jr. who were the first persons in the 
province, both in point of wealth and family con- 
nexions. This large space of ground, which is now 
so thickly inhabited, contained then but ten or 
twelve dwelling houses, and about as many ware- 
houses, which belonged to the above gentlemen. 

President Cutt in his last will, made a short time 
before his decease, says, " I commit my body unto 
a decent burial in my orchard, where I buried my 
wife and children that are deceased. '^ This spot has 
been inclosed and kept as a family burying ground 
by some of his descendants, and is now thickly sur- 
rounded by buildings. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 71 

President Cutt was esteemed by all who knew 
bim. He had been much engaged in public busi- 
ness, and liad filled some of the most important offi- 
ces under the government of Massachusetts, before 
he was appointed President of New-Hampshire. 

As he had been active and useful in life, his death 
was universally lamented. 

Major Richard VValdron succeeded Mr. Cutt as 
President, and appointed Elias Stileman his deputy. 

1682. 

Walter Barefoote, as deputy collector of this port 
under Randolph, seized a vessel here on the 10th 
of March, for a pretended violation of the laws of 
trade ; for which offence, namely, attempting to 
execute an office, without authority derived from 
the government of the Province, he and his assist- 
ants, William Haskins and Thomas Thurton v/ere 
prosecuted. Barefoote pleaded his deputation from 
Randolph, as his justification, notwithstanding which, 
he and his assistants were convicted. Barefoote was 
sentenced to pay a fine of twenty pounds, and his 
assistants five pounds each, which were not to be 
exacted during their good behaviour. An appeal 
was claimed from this sentence to the King, but was 
never prosecuted. 

After Mason's return to England, he solicited the 
King for a change of government, in hopes of pro- 
curing one more favourable to his views as proprie^ 



72 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

tor of the province ; and to induce the King to 
comply with his wishes he conveyed to him, by 
deed, one fifth part of the quit rents, which had or 
should become due ; which, with the fines and forfeit- 
ures, were appropriated to the support of govern- 
ment. On the 9th of May Edward Cranfield was 
appointed Lieutenant Governor and Commander in 
Chief of New-Hampshire. And Mason mortgaged 
the whole province to him, for the term of twenty- 
one years, as security for the payment of one hun- 
dred fifty pounds yearly, for seven years. Mason 
with seven others of the former counsellors, were 
reappointed, and Walter Barefoote and Richard 
Chamberlayne were added. Cranfield accepted his 
appointment ; he arrived at Portsmouth and pub- 
lished his commission on the fourth of October. He 
caused an assembly to be summoned, which met on 
the fourteenth of November. 

1683. 

The Governor dismissed Captain Elias Stileman 
from his command of the fort, a station which he 
had held for several years to the general acceptance 
of the inhabitants, and the approbation of the mem- 
bers of the former administration. The ostensible 
reason for his removal, was his suffering a vessel 
which had been seized, to pass out of the harbour. 
If tliis had been a fact, he should have been arrest- 
edj tried and punished. But as the Governor re- 



ANTVALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 73 

moved him from the Council about the same time, 
it was suspected that he was influenced by other 
motives. Barefoote was appointed to the command 
of the fort. 

At a session of the General Assembly, held in the 
month of January, a misunderstanding took place 
between the Governor and Representatives, who had 
refused to pass a bill to raise money for the sup- 
port of government. The governor dissolved them. 
This was an exercise of power hitherto unknown in 
this country, and it excited much jealousy among 
the people. They were apprehensive that he in- 
tended to take the government into his own hands ; 
or make continual changes in the Council and House 
of Representatives, till he had secured a majority of 
both houses, who would be subservient to his wish- 
es. His interest was strongly connected with Ma- 
son's, as he depended on him for a considerable part 
of his salary. He was desirous of establishing Ma- 
son's claim, and that the inhabitants should take 
leases under him, subject to a quit rent. The 
Governor accordingly on the fourteenth day of Feb- 
ruary, publicly " called on the inhabitants to take 
their leases from Mason within one month, other- 
wise he must certify their refusal to the King, that 
Mason might be discharged from his obligation to 
grant them." 

There were but few who complied with this re- 
quisition. The landholders in general said that 
they had purchased their land from the Indians, the 
10 



•74 ANNALS OP^ PORTSMOUTH. 

original proprietors of the soil, who alone could 
have any title to it ; that they had at great expense 
brought it from a state of nature under cultivation ; 
had erected buildings for the accommodation of 
themselves and families, had defended them against 
a savage enemy, with whom they had been kept in 
a continual state of warfare ; and that no person 
whatever could have a legal or equitable right to 
dispossess them. I'here being no prospect of any 
agreement between the parties, the courts w^ere or- 
ganized principally with a reference to a decision of 
these questions. The Council had appellate juris- 
diction ; most of the old members were removed, 
and others appointed by the Governor in their 
stead. Barefoote was made a Judge, Mason Chan- 
cellor, Chamberlayne Clerk and Prothonotary, Ran- 
dolph, Attorney-General, and Sherlock, Provost, 
Marshall and Sheriff. Matters being thus arranged, 
Mason commenced a number of actions against the 
principal inhabitants of the several towns ; and those 
persons who had accepted leases from Mason were 
selected for jurymen and witnesses. No defence 
was made to these actions, and judgment was uni- 
formly rendered in favour of the plaintiff. Major 
William Vaughan of this town, who was one of the 
defendants, had the resolution to appeal to the King 
in Council, but the judgment against him was there 
affirmed. Mason was put in possession of the es- 
tates he had recovered by due course of law, but so 
strong was the popular prejudice against him, he 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 75 

eoiild neither keep the possession, nor sell them ; 
and their former owners after a short interruption 
continued to occupy them. Martyn, who had been 
treasurer under the former administration, was 
called upon for the fines and forfeitures he had re- 
ceived in his official capacity. His defence was, 
that he had paid out all the monies he had in his 
hands, by order of the President and Council, as he 
was in duty bound to do. Notwithstanding which, 
judgment was rendered against him for seventy-one 
pounds and cost. And by a decree of the Court of 
Chancery, the members of the late Council were or- 
dered to pay their proportion of said judgment. 
^^ This decree was afterwards reversed by the King 
in Council." 

The government became extremely oppressive to 
the people ; and they determined to petition the 
King for redress of grievances. They accordingly 
drew up remonstrances, which were signed by the 
inhabitants of the several towns. They elected 
Nathaniel Weare, of Hampton, their agent for the 
purpose of presenting their petitions and enforcing 
them before the King in Council, and raised money 
by subscription to defray the expense. This busi- 
ness was conducted as privately as possible, lest 
the Governor should take some measures to frustrate 
their designs. Weare went to Boston and took pas- 
sage from thence for England. 

On the 10th of December the Governor and Coun- 
cil passed an order, which was published, requiring 



76 ANNALS GF PORTSMOUTH. 

and commanding '^ that all and singular the respec- 
tive ministers within this province for the time be- 
ing do, from and after the first day of January next 
ensuing, admit all persons, that are of suitable years, 
and not vicious and scandalous in their lives, unto 
the blessed sacrament of the Lord's supper, and 
their children unto baptism. And if any person 
shall desire to receive the sacrament of the Lord's 
supper, or their children to be baptized according 
to the liturgy of the church of England, that it be 
done accordingly in pursuance of the laws of the 
realm of England, and his Majesty's command to the 
Massachusetts' government. And if any minister 
shall refuse so to do, being thereto duly required, 
he shall incur the penalty of the statutes in that case 
made and provided, and the inhabitants are freed 
from paying any duties to the said minister." For 
what purpose this order was made it is difficult to 
apprehend. There were not at this time any min- 
isters in the province, who were episcopally ordain- 
ed ; and no others were authorized by law to offici- 
ate in the church. 

Under pretence of preventing disturbances by 
unlawful assemblies and meetings to the terror of 
his Majesty's subjects, Cranfield issued an order 
" forbidding the trustees or overseers of the several 
and respective towns or others to call any public 
meeting about any town business, or any other pre- 
tence whatever, without leave first obtained from 
the Justices of the Peace of said town, upon just 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 77 

representation of the necessariness of such town or 
public meeting, upon such penalty as the law directs 
to be inflicted upon unlawful assemblies;" which 
order was directed to the constable of Portsmouth 
to be published. 

1684. 

Cranfield was greatly disappointed in all his 
schemes of enriching himself by his office. The 
fines and forfeitures did not amount to much — and 
he could obtain nothing from Mason, nor realize any 
thing from his mortgage. And although he could 
expect no favour from an assembly on account of 
any personal attachment to himself, he determined 
to call one, and attempt to raise money by their 
means under pretence of its being necessary to put 
the province in a proper state of defence, and to 
guard it against invasion in case of a war, of which a 
vague rumour had been spread. The General Court 
met at Great-Island, where the Governor resided, 
on the 14th day of January. The Representatives 
from this town were Richard Waldron, jun. who 
was chosen Speaker, Philip Lewis, and John Picker- 
ing. The Governor had prepared a bill for raising 
money for the defence of the province and other 
necessary charges of government ; which was passed 
by the Council, and sent to the other house for their 
concurrence. They debated upon it sometime, and 
adjourned to the morning; when they negatived it, 



78 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

and in that state returned it to the Governor ; who 
was greatly enraged at this proceeding, and imme- 
diately dissolved them. 

Major Vaughan had accompanied Mr. Weare to 
Boston, and undertook to procure affidavits on his 
return to support the petitions, which had been for- 
warded to the King. But Cranfield, having some 
suspicion of his design, caused him to be appre- 
hended immediately on his arrival in this town, and 
brought before him for examination. He enquired 
of Vaughan for what purpose he went to Boston, 
and what affidavits he desired to have taken. 
Vaughan replied that he went on his own business, 
and the affidavits related to his cause with Mason. 
The Governor treated him with opprobrious lan- 
guage, and required him to give bonds for his good 
behaviour ; but Vaughan refused, declaring that as 
he had broken no law, he would not find sureties for 
his good behaviour. Whereupon Cranfield ordered 
him to be committed to gaol, and signed his mitti- 
mus with his own hand, the 6th day of February. 

Vaughan continued imprisoned about nine months. 

A small vessel belonging to George Janvrin had 
been seized by the collector of the port, for a 
breach of some of the laws of trade. A num- 
ber of persons took forcible possession of her by 
night, and carried her out of the harbour. A 
prosecution was instituted on account of it, and 
upon the trial the owner swore, that she had been 
carried off without his knowledge. Strong suspi- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 79 

cions arose that he had sworn falsely ; however 
he settled the matter with Cranfield and Randolph, 
and all legal proceedings were stopped. But as Mr. 
Janvrin was a member of Mr. Moody's church, it 
was thought necessary for the honour of the church, 
that enquiry should be made respecting the matter. 
Mr. Moody applied to the Governor for evidence 
against the offender ; but CranfieM informed him 
that the action had been settled to his satisfaction, 
and forbade Mr. Moody's instituting any enquiry 
respecting it before the church. Notwithstanding 
which, Mr. Moody preached a sermon upon the evil 
of false swearing; several church-meetings were held 
upon the occasion ; the person suspected was brought 
before them, and charged with the crime, which he 
at length acknowledged and made a public confes- 
sion of it. Cranfield was extremely irritated against 
Mr. Moody for his conduct in this affair, and deter- 
mined to prosecute him for not conforming to the 
modes of worship, prescribed in the book of common 
prayer, and administering the sacraments, as requir- 
ed by the English statutes of uniformity. In pur- 
suance of which design Cranfield sent Moody a 
written notice by the hands of the sheriff on the 5th 
day of February, that on the next Sunday, he, with 
Mason and Hinkes, intended to partake of the Lord's 
supper ; requiring him to administer the same ac- 
cording to the liturgy of the church of England. 
Moody refused to comply with this order. In 
consequence of which Joseph Rayn, the King's 



80 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Attorney, by direction of Granfield, filed an in- 
formation against Moody before the Court of Ses- 
sions. ^^ for refusing to administer the sacrament of 
the Lord's supper according to the manner and 
form set forth in the book of common prayer ; and 
for obstinately and wilfully using some other form, 
than is ordained by law." Moody was arraigned 
upon the information, and stated in his defence, that 
the statutes of uniformity were not in force in this 
country ; and as he was not episcopally ordained, 
he was not such a minister, as those statutes contem- 
plated. He was however convicted, and sentenced 
to be imprisoned six months without bail or main- 
prize ; and on the 6th of February was committed 
to gaol at Great-Island. His mittimus was under 
the hands and seals of Walter Barefoote, Peter Cof- 
fin, Henry Green, and Henry Robie. Two of the 
Justices of the Court, namely, Nathaniel Fryer and 
Thomas Edgerly, did not assent to his conviction, 
and were soon afterwards removed from office. 
Moody was kept in confinement in the house of 
Captain Elias Stileman (which was occupied as a 
gaol) thirteen weeks, having been indulged with the 
liberty of the yard ; at the expiration of that time he 
was released, through the solicitation of his friends; 
but with an injunction not to preach again in the 
province on penalty of farther imprisonment. He 
removed to Boston, and preached there several 
years. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 81 

Craufteld having found that he could not supply 
limself with money through the intervention of an 
issembly, undertook to raise it on his own authority 
)y virtue of a clause in his commission empowering 
lira with the Council in cases of emergency " to 
continue such taxes as had been formerly levied 
mtil a general assembly could be called." 

To prepare tlie minds of the Council to assist him 
n this business, reports were industriously circulat- 
ed that the eastern Indians were preparing for war, 
vhich would probably break out in the spring. A 
^reat show of preparation was made ; every neces*-' 
lary precaution was taken ; supplies of ammunition 
ind other warlike stores were ordered ; the alarm 
vas spread, and every method adopted to convince 
he people of the Governor's anxiety to provide for 
,heir safety. 

The Council met on the 14th of February, hav- 
ng stated the dangers to which the province was 
exposed, and the necessity of being prepared to 
neet them, they passed an order for continuing ^^ all 
iuch taxes and impositions as have been formerly 
aid upon the inhabitants, commanding and requir- 
ng all and singular the constables and collectors 
■orthwith to perforni their duty in levying and col- 
ecting the same, and paying it into the treasury," 

Before this money could be collected, the Gov- 
ernor received a letter from the Lords of Trade 
directing him not to raise money from the people, 
inless by grant of an assembly. This greatly embar- 
11 



S2 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

rassed hini ; it would expose him to censure, if he 
proceeded contrary to his instructions, and he had 
but little hopes of succeeding if he followed them. 
He issued writs for the choice of Representatives, 
and the Assembly met on the 27th day of May. 
Finding it composed principally of persons who 
were members of the former Assembly, and with 
whom he had had some personal altercations, he 
thought it improbable that they would comply with 
his request and vote to raise the money wanted. 
He immediately dissolved them. 

Not long after this the Governor was obliged to 
call another Assembly. The West-Indies and South- 
ern coasts of America were greatly infested with 
pirates. The King had issued orders to the several 
Governors and Colonial Assemblies directing them to 
pass laws and adopt other necessary measures for the 
suppression of piracy and robbery on the high seas. 
In pursuance of these orders Cranfield issued his 
warrants for calling an assembly, which met on the 
22d day of July : and having passed the acts requir- 
ed in the orders from the King, the Governor dis- 
solved them without their acting upon any other 
business. Various attempts were made to collect 
the taxes according to the order of the Governor 
and Council, but without success. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 83 

1685. 

The complaints which had been exhibited against 
Cranfield were referred to a committee of the Lords 
of Trade and Plantations, who heard the parties and 
made their report to the King in Council, on the 
27th day of March, « That Cranfield had not pur- 
sued his instructions with respect to Mason's claims 
in the province, but that he had caused courts to be 
held, and permitted titles of land to be decided, and 
unreasonable costs to be allowed, without first rep- 
resenting the particular cases to your Majesty. 
That his determining the price and value of coins 
was an assumption of power, and an encroachment 
upon the royal prerogative." Which report was ap- 
proved by the King on the 8th day of April, and 
signified to Cranfield by the Lords of Trade by 
command of the King. Vaughan had likewise a 
right of appeal allowed him in all his actions, pro- 
vided he claimed the same within a fortnight, which 
he accordingly did. 

During these proceedings in England, Cranfield, 
through his agent, obtained leave of absence from 
the province, and as soon as he received information 
of the decree against him, he embarked privately 
for Jamaica, whence he took passage for England, 
and never returned again to New-Hampshire. 

Cranfield had accepted the government with an 
expectation of accumulating a large estate ; and he 
used very unjustifiable means to effect his purpose. 



84 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

But he was greatly disappointed. His temper, 
naturally irritable, was easily excited by opposition ; 
the arbitrary manner in which he exercised his au- 
thority, had a tendency to render him unpopular, 
and he was continually engaged in altercations with 
the people. He indulged his vindictive disposition 
in seeking revenge whenever an opportunity offer- 
ed. On his arrival in England he was appointed 
Collector of Barbadoes, and in the execution of that 
office, he was particularly attentive and civil to eve- 
ry person he met there belonging to this place. 

After Cranfield left the government the adminis- 
tration devolved on Barefoote, who was deputy 
Governor or President of the Council. 

1686. 

Mason had not yet succeeded in retaining posses- 
sion of any of the cultivated lands, but he still ex- 
pected to substantiate his claim to the unimproved 
part of the province. Jonathan Tyng, with several 
other persons, purchased of the Indians a tract of 
land six miles wide, lying on both sides the Merri- 
mack river, extending from Souhegan river to Win- 
nipiseogee lake. To complete their title they ob- 
tained from Mason, on the 16th of April, a deed 
confirming the grant, in which he reserved an 
annual rent of ten shillings. ^< This was called the 
million acre purchase," but none of the lands, in- 
cluded in it are now held under this grant. On the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 85 

15th of May, Mason farmed out to Hezekiah 
Usher all the ores and minerals within the prov- 
ince, reserving one quarter part of the royal ores, 
and one seventeenth part of the baser kinds. But 
Usher derived no advantage from this grant. No 
ore excepting iron has been discovered in New- 
Hampshire, and wherever that has been found, the 
owners of the soil have always claimed the exclusive 
right to it. 

Notwithstanding the directions to Cranfield from 
the Lords of Trade, that all proceedings in law 
relating to Mason's title should cease until the de- 
cision of Vaughan's appeal. Mason made another 
attempt with Barefoote's assistance to carry the 
judgments he had recovered into execution, but 
without success ; it produced some personal ren- 
counters with the inhabitants, in which he was 
treated with great severity and without much re- 
spect. 

In the course of the spring he again embarked for 
England, to attend the trial of his actions against 
Vaughan, which were then pending before the 
Lords of Trade. Barefoote's administration was 
very short. He was superseded by Joseph Dudley, 
vvho was appointed President of New-England, 
which included the government of Massachusetts, 
New-Hampshire, Maine, and Narrhagansett, called 
likewise King's Province. This form of government 
went into operation on the 25th day of May. Rob- 
ert Mason and John Hinkes, both of this place, 



86 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

were of the Council. After Mr. Moody's removal, 
the town had been destitute of a constant supply in 
the ministry, but had only occasional preaching as 
opportunities offered. On the 14th of June they 
sent Captain John Pickering and Mr. Samuel Keais 
to inform him that, " considering his former obliga- 
tion to the town and the towns to him, the cause of 
his removal being taken away, the town doth desire 
and expect his return, on the terms he formerly was 
settled for his future maintenance." Mr. Moody's 
answer was not explicit, and on the 29th of October 
they contracted with the Rev. Gilbert Laurie, who 
had been preaching here, to continue with them six 
months longer, for which they agreed to ^^ pay him 
thirty-six pounds, and the expense of removing from 
Boston, and to provide convenient house-room for 
himself and family during said time." 

A hearing was had on Vaughan's appeal before a 
committee of the Lords of Trade and Plantations, 
who made their report in Mason's favour ; and on 
the 19th of November the King was pleased to 
*• approve of their Lordships' opinion and report, 
and to order the said verdict and judgment given in 
his Majesty's Courts in New- Hampshire, in New- 
England, at the suit of Rpbcrt Mason, Esq. as 
proprietor of that province, for certain lands and 
tenements in Portsmouth, in said province be rati- 
fied and affirmed, and they are hereby ratified and 
affirmed accordingly." It had long been the inten- 
tion of the King to rjite all the Colonial govern- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 87 

ments in this country under one Governor-General. 
The design was to introduce the alteration so grad- 
ually as not to excite any alarm^ and the appoint- 
ment of Mr. Dudley was considered as one step 
towards it. 

On the 30th of December Sir Edmund Andross, 
who had been Governor of New- York, arrived with 
a commission appointing him Captain-General and 
Governor in Chief of New-England. The Govern- 
or and Council were invested with full powers to 
make laws, impose taxes, and appropriate the money 
as they should think necessary. The Council was 
numerous ; seven were necessary to form a board, 
five of whom made a quorum ; and the Governor 
generally selected such, as were most subservient to 
his wishes. 

1687. 

After the decision of Mason's actions against 
Vaughan, he returned again to this town, with an 
intention to have his executions levied according to 
law. He had however to encounter difficulties, 
which he had not anticipated. The new govern- 
ment viewed with a jealous eye the extensive claim 
of Mason, and was desirous of dividing the territory 
amongst themselves. The Courts refused to issue 
executions on the judgments he had formerly re- 
covered ; and as the Governor and Council were 
authorized to grant lands, on such terms, and sub- 



88 ANN.\LS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ject to such quit rents, as should be appointed by 
the King ; it was held that Mason's leases were not 
valid. Every new difficulty confirmed the people 
in their opinion that his title was defective ; and 
served to increase their opposition to him. 

1688. 

After a long contest with the Courts in New- 
Hampshire, Mason found that he could not obtain 
his writs of possession and executions on the judg- 
ments he had recovered : he therefore applied to 
Dudley, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 
whose jurisdiction extended over the whole territo- 
ry, for a writ of certiorari to remove those actions 
into that Court. The Chief Justice granted the 
writ, which issued on the 18th of July, directed to 
the Judges of New-Hampshire, returnable before 
the Supreme Court at Boston. But Mason's death 
put a stop to all further proceedings. He was sum- 
moned to attend the Governor as one of his Council, 
and on his journey from New- York to Albany he 
died at Esopus, in the 59th year of his age. He 
left two sons, John and Robert. 

1689. 

The spirit of the revolution, which introduced 
the Prince of Orange into England, extended to this 
country. The people harrassed and fatigued with 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 89 

continual changes and impositions, rejoined at aa 
opportunity of freeing tliemselves from a govern- 
ment, which had been so extremely oppressive to 
them. Andross had returned to Boston a zealous sup- 
porter of King James, and he treated with severity 
all, who were attached to the other party. Reports 
were circulated that he intended to introduce Pope- 
ry, and that his guards would massacre those, who 
opposed him. These reports, however unfounded, 
excited great alarm ; the inhabitants rose in arms, 
seized the Governor and his principal adherents, 
and committed them to prison, and afterwards sent 
them to England, as state-prisoners, to abide the 
orders of the King. In this unsettled state of affairs 
it was proposed to call a convention to advise in 
what manner to proceed, and to agree upon some 
form of government. Major William Vaughan, 
Richard Waldron, Nathaniel Fryer, Robert Elliot, 
Thomas Corbett and Captain John Pickering were 
chosen deputies from this town. 

Besides these perplexities and distresses, the peo- 
ple had to encounter others of a different kind. 
The Indians had for some time been troublesome, 
and made depredations on those settlements, which 
were most exposed. This year the war broke out 
with great fury. The massacre at Major Waldron's, 
and some other garrison-houses at Dover, took place 
with circumstances of unparalleled cruelties ; but 
this town escaped. Finding it necessary to make 
some exertions to check the savages, scouting par- 
12 



90 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ties were sent out from several towns. One from 
this place under Captain Wincol marched to Win- 
nipiseogee lake, where they killed one or two 
Indians and destroyed their corn. 

Captain John Pickering, an influential man in the 
town, went with a company of armed men to the 
house of Chamberlayne, the late Secretary of the 
province and Clerk of the Superior Court, and de- 
manded the records and files, which were in his 
possession. Chamberlayne refused to deliver them 
without orders from some proper authority or in- 
demnity. Pickering took them by force and carried 
them to the house of Major Joseph Hammond in 
Kittery, where he concealed them. 

1690. 

The Convention recommended a reunion with 
Massachusetts, until the King's pleasure should be 
known. Application was made to that government 
and readily agreed to ; the union took place on the 
12th of March. Mr. Richard Waldron and Captain 
John Pickering were elected and sent Representa- 
tives to the General Court. 

The town " voted that Mr. William Vaughan, 
Mr. Richard Martyn, and Mr. Nathaniel Fryer, 
who were formerly chosen by this town and con- 
firmed as Magistrates by the Governor and Council 
of Massachusetts' Bay, be the persons that are to at- 
tend that work according to their oaths taken." 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 91 

The Indians continued the war with unabated 
zeal. They made an attack on Fox Point where 
they burned several houses, killed fourteen people 
and carried away six captives. The settlements on 
the frontiers suffered most. Forty persons were 
killed in one week between Lamprey river and 
Amesbury. On the 29th of November the In- 
dians requested a cessation of hostilities ; they 
brought in ten captives and agreed upon a truce 
until the 1st of the next May. 

The Faulkland;, a fifty-four gun ship, was built 
here by order of the British government. 

1691. 

The town at a general meeting held the 30th of 
March, voted to give the Rev. John Cotton (son of 
Rev. Seaborn Cotton of Hampton) a call to settle 
here in the ministry, and offered him eighty pounds 
per year. 

Mr. Moody having seen the foregoing vote, wrote 
to the town on the 29th of May, informing them 
that he would return, if it were their wish ; that 
they had been hasty in giving the call to Mr. Cot- 
ton, but whether he returned or not, he should do 
every thing in his power to promote their welfare. 
He had previously written to the church, stating 
his willingness to return and renew his pastoral re- 
lation with them if it were thought best, and pro- 
posed that a council should be called to advise them 



93 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

how to proceed. The selectmen did not think pro- 
per to call a town-meeting to lay this letter before 
them, but wrote Mr. Moody, that they had consult- 
ed many individuals respecting it : that they did 
not see the necessity of a council ; that his leaving 
them destitute so many years, especially after their 
repeated invitations to him to return, was evidence 
of his intention of quitting them altogether ; and 
that since the town had given a call to Mr. Cotton, 
they were not at liberty to act, until they had re- 
ceived his answer. 

Mr. Cotton advised them to make another appli- 
cation to Mr. Moody, and if he did not accept this 
invitation, " they might honestly provide for them- 
selves such person as they judge fittest to supply 
the place of the ministry here.'' The town accord- 
ingly voted on the 8th of October to send another 
messenger to Mr. Moody and request his return, 
and to inform him " that in consequence of his ab- 
sence, part of the town had withdrawn and provided 
themselves with a minister, and that they were not 
able to maintain a minister as they had formerly 
done. Notwithstanding which, they engage, pro- 
vided he return forthwith, to pay him eighty pounds 
a year, and let him have the use of the glebe and 
parsonage house. But if he do not take up with 
the above propositions, the church and town are 
resolved to concern themselves no further with Mr. 
Moody, but look upon ourselves clear from him and 
he from us.'' 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 93 

At the same meeting they confirmed their former 
vote respecting Mr. Cotton, and empowered the 
selectmen to renew their invitation to him ; " pro- 
vided Mr. Moody did not come within a fortnight 
from that time and remain here in supplying the 
place of the ministry as formerly." 

Mr. Moody thought the intervention of a council 
of great importance, and was unwilling to return 
without their advice. The town and church being 
of a contrary opinion a council was not called, and 
Mr. Moody concluded to remain at Boston. Mr. 
Cotton came to this town and preached here three 
months. He was afterward settled at Hampton, as 
successor of his father. 

The first planters of Massachusetts left their na- 
tive country, for the sake of enjoying here a greater 
degree of civil and religious liberty, than they were 
indulged with in England. The settlers of New- 
Hampshire were influenced by very different mo- 
tives. Captain Smith, in the account he published 
of New-England, speaks highly of the importance 
of the fisheries, and concludes his observations in 
the following manner ; " Therefore, honourable and 
worthy countrymen, let not the meanness of the 
word fish distaste you, for it will afford you as good 
gold as the mines of Potosi and Guiana ; with less 
hazard and charge, and more certainty and facility." 
Many of the first settlers of New-Hampshire con- 
firmed the truth of this remark. They diligently 



94 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH, 

pursued the business, which naturally introduced 
other branches of commerce, and led to opulence. 

A reverend divine, preaching against the deprav- 
ity of the times said, " you have forsaken the pious 
habits of your forefathers, who left the ease and 
comfort which they possessed in their native land, 
and came to this howling wilderness to enjoy with- 
out molestation the exercise of their pure principles 
of religion." One of the congregation interrupted 
him ; Sir, you entirely mistake the matter ; our 
ancestors did not come here on account of their re- 
ligion, but to fish and trade. 

John Tufton Mason, having died without issue, 
the title to the estate in New-Hampshire descended 
and came to his brother, Robert Tufton Mason, who 
suffered a fine and recovery in the Court of King's 
Bench in England, for the purpose of docking the 
entail ; and on the 27th day of April he sold his 
title to the lands in New-Hampshire, to Samuel 
Allen of London, merchant, for seven hundred and 
fifty pounds. 

Allen applied to the King to recognize his title, 
and at the same time solicited the appointment of 
Governor of the province. The inhabitants held 
another convention by deputies, and petitioned the 
King to be reannexed to Massachusetts ; but the 
importunity and influence of Allen, prevented the 
union. 

^^ A party of Indians came from the Eastward in 
canoes to Sandy-Beach, where they killed and cap- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 95 

tured twenty-one persons ; Captain Sherburne of 
this place, a worthy officer, was killed by them at 
the Eastward." 



1692. 

On the 25 th of January the town of York was 
destroyed. Most of the houses were unguarded, 
and were surrounded by the Indians, who fired 
a gun as a signal, upon which the inhabitants ran 
to their doors, and about fifty of them were kill- 
ed on the spot, and nearly an hundred captured. 
The minister, Shubael Dummer, who was greatly 
esteemed, was shot dead as he was mounting his 
horse at his door, and his wife and family were made 
prisoners. They set fire to the houses, four fortified 
houses only holding out against them. A party of 
men were sent from this town to their assistance, 
but arrived too late to afibrd relief or retake the 
captives. 

Whether Mr. Moody made any further overtures 
to the town is uncertain ; but they relaxed from 
their determination to have no further connexion 
with him. On the 18th of January they voted, 
'' That whereas our Reverend Pastor, Mr. Joshua 
Moody, was for a long time agon driven from us, 
and the troublesomeness of the times having hither- 
to hindered his return, the town doth now invite 
him to return and supply his place as formerly ; and 
on that condition, the town doth engage to make 



96 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

good his salary in every respect as formerly, so long 
as said Mr. Moody doth supply the place of the 
ministry here." 

Notwithstanding the application of the inhabi- 
tants to be united with Massachusetts, New-Hamp- 
shire was established as a separate government, and 
Allen obtained the appointment of Governor. His 
commission was dated the 1st of March, and his 
son-in-law, John Usher, was appointed Lieutenant 
Governor, with full power to execute the office in 
the Governor's absence ; for which services Allen 
promised to pay him 250/. per year. Usher was 
peculiarly disagreeable to the people, not only on 
account of his connexion with Allen, but because he 
had been an active agent under Andross in carrying 
the arbitrary measures he had adopted into effect. 

Usher arrived here and published his commission 
on the 13th day of August. He immediately un- 
dertook the administration of the government much 
against the wishes of the people. One of his first acts 
was an attempt to obtain possession of the papers re- 
lating to Mason's suits. He ordered Pickering to be 
brought before him, and demanded the record and 
files, which he had forcibly taken from Chamber- 
layne. Pickering refused to deliver them, or give 
information where they were, unless to the Assem- 
bly or to some person authorized by them to receive 
them ; upon which the Lieutenant Governor or- 
dered him to be imprisoned. After having been 
detained in prison some time he submitted, and 
delivered them to the Secretary by Usher's order. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 97 

The small-pox made its appearance this year ; it 
was communicated from cotton, imported from the 
West-Indies. But few persons were acquainted 
with the disorder, and as none knew the proper 
method of treating it, a great mortality ensued. 
Almost every person, who was attacked with it, fell 
a victim to tlie fatal disease. 

At a General Assembly held at Portsmouth on the 
second Tuesday of October, several of the represen- 
tatives refused to take the oaths, appointed by act 
of Parliament, instead of the oaths of allegiance and 
supremacy according to the custom of England, by 
swearing upon the Bible. The Council *^ ordered 
that the oaths be administered to such of the Assem- 
bly, as have so refused, by lifting up of their hands, 
considering the present troubles and circumstances 
of affairs.'^ John Hinkes, Esq. one of the Council, 
entered his dissent from the above said order, in 
the manner of administering the oath, and being 
one of the commissioners appointed in the dedimus 
to administer the oaths, he refused to act. His 
name was erased from the commission, and that of 
Nathaniel Fryer was inserted in its stead. 

Mr. Richard Martyn, Captain Elias Stileman, and 
Captain John Pickering were the representatives of 
this town. The Assembly made choice of Richard 
Martyn for their speaker, and presented him to the 
Lieutenant Governor, who approved of the choice. 



13 



98 AJVNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1693. 

The inhabitants of Great-Island, on the 10th of 
March, petitioned the Lieutenant Governor and 
Council to be made a township by themselves. It 
was ordered that the selectmen of Portsmouth be 
served with a copy of said petition, and that they 
be notified to attend on Friday next, to shew cause 
why the petition should not be granted, and like- 
wise that they come prepared to shew how they 
came to be a town, and what their rights and immu- 
nities are. 

The selectmen appeared before the Governor and 
Council on the 17th day of March, and said, "The 
town has been reputed so — believe there may be a 
grant constituting Portsmouth a town, but they 
know not where it is. The bounds were laid out 
by the Massachusetts, and as having enjoyed it ma- 
ny years, pray it may still be continued as a town." 
The Council determined that Great-Island should be 
a township and divided from the Bank, provided it 
is able to support itself. — On the question that San- 
dy-Beach and Little-Harbour be added, yeas 3, 
nays 3, and Peter Coffin yea if all parties consent. 
The Lieutenant Governor tlien declared it should 
be a town, and that he would make it so, separate 
from the Bank. 

On the 30th of May the grant to make Great- 
Island a town was prepared and engrossed, and read 
in Council, none making any objection why the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 99 

same should not be signed and sealed, save Major 
Vaughan, who desired his dissent might be entered 
against the passing the same, for that he thinks the 
King's commission gives liberty to the Lieutenant 
Governor to make towns, but not to divide towns : 
whereupon the Lieutenant Governor in Council sign- 
ed and executed the same grant. The township 
thus granted was called New-Castle. 

The beginning of this year the Rev. Mr. Moody 
returned to this town and resumed his pastoral care 
of the church and people here. 

The Indians had not been so troublesome this 
year, as formerly. Having lost several of their 
leaders, they were desirous of some respite from the 
fatigues of war. On the 11th of August they sent 
to the officers of the fort at Pemaquid, proposals for 
peace, which were accepted ; and they delivered 
hostages for the faithful performance of the terms of 
it on their part. The war had been peculiarly dis- 
tressing to the inhabitants of New-Hampshire, as 
well as to their neighbours of the other provinces. 
Besides the loss of lives, and the continual expense 
attending a state of war, they were interrupted in 
their agricultural pursuits ; in consequence of which, 
provisions had become very scarce and dear : and 
their trade, which consisted chiefly of lumber, was 
nearly destroyed. The news of peace was there- 
fore very acceptable to them. 



100 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 



1694. 

The peace was of short duration. The Indians, 
instigated by the French in Canada, determined on 
a renewal of hostilities, and according to their usual 
practice gave no cause of suspicion, until they were 
ready to strike the blow. The settlements on Oys- 
ter river were fixed on, as the most suitable place 
for the attack. Accordingly two hundred and fifty 
Indians, commanded by Villieu, a French officer, 
arrived at their place of destination, undiscovered, 
on the evening of the 17th of July; and, having 
placed a small party in ambush near every house on 
both sides the river, made their attack unexpectedly 
early in the morning. Some of the garrison houses 
were defended with great gallantry, at which the 
enemy were repulsed ; but they succeeded in kil- 
ling and capturing nearly one hundred persons, and 
in burning about twenty houses. They retreated 
the next day and carried off their prisoners, and the 
scalps of those, they had killed. 

A small party crossed Piscataqua river and came 
to the farm of Mrs. Ursula Cutt, the widow of the 
late President Cutt, and there killed her, and three 
men who were at work for her, making, hay on her 
farm ; which was situated about two miles above the 
bank, and was cultivated with much elegance and 
taste. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 101 

Colonel Richard Waldron and his wife, with their 
son, were providentially saved from falling into the 
hands of this party. They were just preparing to 
go by water to Mrs. Cutt's, where they were engag- 
ed to dine, but were prevented by the arrival of 
some friends at their house : whilst at dinner they 
heard of her death. 

1695. 

In the month of July the Indians killed two men 
at Exeter : which is the only instance of their mak- 
ing; inroads into the province the present year. 

Usher had repeatedly applied to the Assembly for 
grants of money ; but they always evaded his re- 
quests by pleading poverty, the exposed situation of 
the province, and the difficulty they had to raise 
sufficient funds for its defence. He was also disap- 
pointed of the stipend he expected from Allen. He 
drew upon him for tlie amount of his salary, but his 
bills came back protested. He had been very at- 
tentive to Allen's interest, and had incurred consid- 
erable expense in support of his claims. But seeing 
no prospect of remuneration, he requested Allen to 
come over and take charge of the government him- 
self, and in the mean time to procure some other 
person to be appointed Lieutenant Governor in his 
stead. He was anticipated in this last request. He 
had suspended Hinkes, Waldron, and Vaughan as 
Counsellors, which excited great irritation among 



102 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the people. By way of retaliation they petitioned 
the King for Usher's removal, and recommended 
William Partridge for his successor. This was 
done with so much secrecy, that Usher had no sus- 
picion of their designs. Partridge was a native of 
this town and very popular. He was bred a ship- 
wright, and was distinguished for his skill in naval 
architecture and other mechanic arts. He had been 
a contractor for purchasing masts and timber for the 
navy, and had been otherwise largely engaged in 
trade ; which had procured him an acquaintance 
with many influential persons in England. Having 
made the necessary preparations for the voyage, he 
sailed for that country 

1696. 

This year the Indians began their predatory in- 
cursions in the spring. The beginning of May they 
killed and scalped John Church near his own house 
at Cochecho. Their most fatal attack was made at 
the plains in this town on the 26th day of June. 
The party came from York to Sandy-Beach in ca- 
noes, which they secreted among the bushes the 
night preceding. They were at their stations be- 
fore daylight, and early in the morning made an 
assault on five houses at the same time. The peo- 
ple ran out as soon as the alarm was given, and the 
Indians killed fourteen persons ; one, whom they 
supposed was dead, and had scalped, afterwards 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 103 

recovered. They took four prisoners, and having 
phindered the houses, they set them on fire and re- 
treated through great swamp about four or five 
miles, where they stopped on the declivity of a hill 
to prepare some breakfast ; which has ever since 
retained the name of Breakfast-HilJ. 

A company of militia, under the command o^ Cap- 
tain Shackford and Lieutenant Libbey, immediately 
pursued and overtook them in this situation. The 
Indians had placed their captives above them on the 
hill to receive the fire in case they should be attack- 
ed. The militia rushed upon them, rescued the 
prisoners and the plunder, but the enemy escaped 
by concealing themselves in the swamp till night, 
when they took possession of their canoes. A party 
was sent out in boats, which were arranged in a line 
to intercept them in their passage to the Eastward ; 
, the Captain being too sanguine, gave orders to fire 
before the enemy were within reach of their guns, 
upon which they altered their course and escaped 
by going round the Isle-of-Shoals. 

On the 26th of July three persons were killed at 
Dover, as they returned from public worship, and 
three others were taken prisoners. 

The Bedford Galley of 32 guns was built here for 
the British government. 

The French had a small fleet at St. Johns under 
command of Iberville, an experienced officer, and 
there captured the English ship, Newport. They 
then proceeded to Pemaquid, where they were 



104 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

joined by two hundred Indians under the Baron 
St. Castine. The fort at Pemaquid was command- 
ed by Captain Chubb, which he surrendered to the 
French, and the garrison was sent to Boston as pris- 
oners of war to be exchanged for as many French 
and Indian prisoners. It was expected that the 
enemy would immediately proceed westward as 
far as Piscataqua river. Five hundred men, under 
command of Colonel Church, were sent without 
delay from Boston to Portsmouth to arrest their 
progress, but af.sr destroying the fort at Pemaquid, 
the enemy returned to the Eastward. 

Lieutenant Governor Stoughton ordered Colonel 
Church to embark his men at Portsmouth on board 
of small vessels, and range along the eastern shore 
in search of the enemy. 

1697. 

Charles Story, having received the appointment 
of Judge of the Admiralty for this province, em- 
barked at England for this country. On the 19th 
of January, not Jong after his arrival here, he pro- 
duced his commission before the Council, which was 
read and approved, and ordered to be recorded. On 
the same day he was appointed by the Council their 
Clerk and Secretary of the province. Having tak- 
en the necessary oaths, the province records and 
files were committed to his care. The Council 
convened again on the first of February, but Mr. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 105 

Story did not attend. They then ordered a boat to 
be sent to New-Castle for him immediately. He 
appeared the next day, and the President repri- 
manded him for his neglect. Story answered " with 
lofty indecent carriage towards the Council'' and 
said he had been cautioned against acting in those 
oflices. The late Lieutenant Governor, Usher, was 
suspected of beitig his adviser ; but he declined 
giving any information, who it was. The Council 
then demanded of him the books and papers, which 
had been delivered to him ; but he peremptorily 
refused to deliver them. Whereupon the Council 
ordered the constable to take him into custody ; and 
issued a warranty, directed to the sherifiT and to Cap- 
tain John Pickering, requiring and empowering 
them to take with them sufficient assistance, and 
" to make diligent search in any houses, rooms, clos- 
ets, chests, trunks, or other places within this prov- 
ince for the above said books and papers, or any 
other books, or papers, or records belonging to this 
province, and the same when found, to bring to the 
President and Council." The Sheriff, by virtue of 
this warrant; in a short time brought in the records 
and files, belonging to the Council and Assembly, 
which had been delivered to Mr. Story. He was 
again brought before the Council, and the President 
informed him that they had obtained possession of 
their books and papers, which had been in his custo- 
dy, notwithstanding his endeavours to prevent them, 
and since he had so peremptorily refused to serve the 
14 



106 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the King in this province in the office of Secretary 
and Clerk of the Council, to which he had so lately 
been admitted, and thereby dismissed himself, the 
President and Council also dismiss him.'' But the 
President also told him '^ that as to his office of 
Judge of the Admiralty within this province, the 
Council would do what was proper for them in coun- 
tenancing and assisting him in the execution of that 
office according to his commission/' So Mr. Story 
was dismissed. Henry Penny, who was removed at 
the time Story was appointed, was reappointed Se- 
cretary of the province and Clerk of the Council. 

Partridge succeeded in obtaining the office of Lieu- 
tenant Governor, and was invested with the supreme 
command in Allen's absence. His commission con- 
tained a full and entire revocation of Usher's author- 
ity as Lieutenant Governor, and the President and 
Council were to administer the government, until 
the Lieutenant Governor should be qualified to act. 
Hinkes was President of the Council, and a copy of 
Allen's commission, and instructions were sent to 
him. 

Partridge returned to this country the beginning 
of the present year, but did not immediately pub- 
lish his commission. His appointment was wholly 
unexpected to Usher, who endeavoured to excite 
opposition to the government. He made a long 
address to the people at Hampton one Sunday, in 
the time of public worship before the sermon, on 
the state of public affairs : and requested the civil 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 107 

and military officers, and the two companies of mi- 
litia of the town under arras to meet him the next 
morning. But failing in his attempt, he left the 
province. The President and Council issued a 
proclamation, stating the revocation of Usher's pow- 
er, and commanding all persons to submit to their 
authority. They removed Lieutenant Colonel Pack- 
er and Major Smith from their command in the 
militia, and placed the whole under the command of 
Major Vaughan. They commanded Vaughan, with 
as many men as he could get mounted, to march to 
Hampton and Exeter, and to cause their proclama- 
tion to be published at each of those places ; and if 
he met with any persons, who were giving any dis" 
turbance to government, to seize and secure them. 

On the 8th of June the President of the Council 
opened the General Assembly with a speech. Those 
Counsellors; who had been suspended by Usher, 
took their seats. Captain John Pickering was 
appointed King's Attorney, and Major William 
Vaughan, Recorder. The Assembly ordered the 
records and files, which Pickering had taken from 
Chamberlayne, and which Usher had compelled him 
to relinquish, to be deposited in the Recorder's of- 
fice, subject to the control of the General Court. 

Usher was indefatigable in whatever he under- 
took ; he resented very highly the treatment he 
had received in New-Hampshire, and sent Story, 
the late Secretary, to England with complaints to 
the Lords of Trade, against the President and 
Council. 



108 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

A party of Indians lay in ambush near Exeter on 
the 10th day of June with intention to make assault 
upon the town the next morning. A gun was fired 
to frighten some women and children, who had gone 
into a field to gather strawberries, without a guard 
and contrary to the advice of their friends ; the in- 
habitants immediately took the alarm and met to- 
gether under arms. The Indians supposed they 
were discovered and made a precipitate retreat, 
after having killed one person, wounded another, 
and taken a child prisoner. On the 4th of July 
they killed Major Frost at Kittcry. These were 
the only instances of mischief done by them this 
year. 

Mr. Moody^ the minister of this town was natur- 
ally of a robust constitution ; but from too close ap- 
plication to his studies, and to the discharge of his 
parochial duties, he contracted some disorders, which 
obliged him to repair to Boston for medical aid. He 
jiad been there but a short time before he fell a vic- 
tim to his disease. He died on Sunday the 4th day 
of July in the sixty-fifth year of his age. Great 
harmony subsisted between him and his parish, be- 
fore he was driven away by Cranfield's persecution, 
and after his return until his death ; although many 
of his parishioners were hurt, that he did not imme- 
diately return after the cause of his absence was 
removed. He was the son of William Moody of 
J^ewbury ; was graduated at Harvard College in 
1653, and was one of the fellows of that institution. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 109 

# 
On the death of President Rogers in 1684, he was 

invited to take the charge of the College, which he 
declined. Mr. Moody possessed a very benevolent 
disposition, and was ready to do good to all men, 
according to his ability and opportunity. A re- 
i inarkable instance occurred, whilst he resided in 
I Boston. He was greatly opposed to the fanaticism, 
which prevailed at the time of the Salem witchcraft, 
and deluded so many people. Mr. English and his 
wife were accused, and because the gaol in Salem 
, was full, they were sent to Boston for confinement, 
until the time of their trial. They had permission 
to go abroad by day, but lodged in the gaol. The 
day before they were to be removed to Salem for 
trial, Mr. Moody invited them to attend public 
worship, and preached from the text, '^ when they 
persecute you in this city, flee ye into another.'' 
In his sermon, he justified the attempt to avoid pro- 
secution, where the courts of law were perverted to 
iniquitous purposes, and justice could not be obtain- 
ed. He visited English and his wife in prison after 
the service, and told them plainly, that their lives 
Were in danger, and advised them to escape. He 
procured letters for them to the Governor of New-^ 
York, who received them at his own house and 
treated them with great attention. They continued 
in New- York about a year, and returned to Salem 
after the phrenzy had subsided. By this kind in- 
terference of Mr. Moody, in defiance of popular 
prejudice, he probably preserved this worthy cou- 



110 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

^\ 
pie from a premature death by the hand of the ex- 
ecutioner. He was applauded for the act by men 
of discernment, but felt the resentment of the infat- 
uated multitude. 

On the 19th day of July the town, by their com- 
mittee, invited Mr. Nathaniel Rogers son of John 
Rogers, late President of Harvard College, to settle 
with them in the work of the ministry, and offered 
him, besides the use of the glebe and parsonage, one 
hundred pounds, which terms he accepted. 

Richard, Earl of Bellomont, had been appointed 
Governor of New- York, Massachusetts, and New- 
Hampshire, but remained still in England. The 
Lords of Trade in answer to Usher's complaint, di- 
rected him to continue in the exercise of his ojfice 
of Lieutenant Governor of New-Hampshire, until 
Partridge should qualify himself, or the Earl should 
arrive. At the same time they sent him the trea- 
ty which had been agreed on by the commission- 
ers at Ryswick, whereby a general peace had been 
established in Europe. He received these commu- 
nications on the 10th of December, and as soon as 
possible visited the province for the purpose of 
reassuming the reins of government, after nearly 
one year's absence. On the 13th of December he 
published the orders he had received from the 
Lords of Trade, and caused proclamation to be made 
of the peace with the usual solemnities. The next 
morning Partridge, by advice of his friends, pub- 
lished his commission in due form, took the oaths 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. Ill 

prescribed by law, and immediately entered on the 
duties of this office. Usher was disappointed, cha- 
grined, and mortified, and returned to Boston with- 
out delay. 

1698. 

An assembly was summoned which met on the 
3d of January. The Representatives from this town 
were John Pickering, Samuel Penhallow, and Sam- 
uel Keais. They voted an address to the Lords of 
Trade, in which, among other things, they express- 
ed their grateful acknowledgments to the King for 
his goodness in appointing one of their own inhab- 
itants to the command of the province. Being in- 
formed that the Earl of Belloraont had arrived at 
New- York, they appointed Ichabod Plaisted, Esq. 
their agent, with orders to wait upon the Earl, and 
present him their congratulations on his appointment 
as Governor of this province, and on his safe arrival 
in this country, and to ascertain when he might be 
expected here. 

In consequence of the general peace which had 
taken place between England, France, and the oth- 
er Belligerant powers in Europe, Count Frontenac, 
the Governor of Canada, informed the Indians, that 
he could no longer assist them in carrying on the 
I war against the English settlements in this country, 
[but recommended to them to return their captives 
and make peace. 



112 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Lord Bellomont delayed his visit to this province 
a long time. In the interim, Governor Allen arriv- 
ed here on the 15th of September, and concluded 
that his commission would continue in force until 
the Earl should arrive here and take upon himself 
the administration. He took the necessary oaths, 
and entered upon the duties of the office. On the 
29th of November Usher took his seat in Council, 
which he claimed as Lieutenant Governor. This 
produced great altercation in the Council ; and sev- 
eral of the members refused to sit with him because 
his commission was superseded by the appointment 
of Partridge. The Governor decided in favour of 
Usher, and refused to admit those Counsellors, 
whom Usher had formerly suspended ; upon which 
Elliot withdrew himself from the board and was 
afterwards suspended by Allen. 

1699. 

A new Assembly met on the 5th of January ; 
Joseph Smith of Hampton, and Kinsley Hall of Ex- 
eter, having been appointed Counsellors, appeared 
and took their seats. The Representatives from 
this town were the same as at the last election. 
Mr. Pickering was chosen speaker, and approved 
by the Governor. A violent contention took place 
in the Council as to Usher's right to a seat there, 
which was decided by a majority in his favour. 
The old Counsellors, except Fryer, refused to sit 
with him. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 113 

The Counsellors were appointed by a writ of 
mandamus from the King, but the Governor was 
authorized by his commission to suspend any of the 
members of the Council, whenever he should find 
just cause for so doing. If by any means the num- 
ber should be reduced below seven, the Governor 
had a right to appoint out of the principal freehold- 
ers, inhabitants of the province, as many as will 
make up the number of the Council to be seven. 
And the persons so appointed, were to be Counsel- 
lors to all intents and purposes, until the King's 
pleasure respecting them should be known. The 
Governor appointed Sampson Sheafe of New-Castle, 
and Peter Weare of Hampton to make a quorum. 
Sheafe was appointed Secretary, Smith Treasurer, 
and William Ardell Sheriff. The Assembly voted 
to continue the impost and excise until November, 
but they ordered the money collected to be kept in 
the Treasury, until the arrival of the Ea;l of Bello- 
mont. This irritated the Governor so much, that 
he immediately dissolved them. Allen was said to 
be of a mild disposition but greatly under the influ- 
ence of Usher, who, it is supposed, excited him to 
these violent measures, to retaliate upon those, who 
had opposed him. 

On the 7th of January the Indians came into Cas- 
eo and entered into a treaty of peace. They deliv- 
ered up those captives, who were able to travel in 
this inclement season and promised to restore the 
others in the spring. 

15 



114 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

On the third of May the Rev. Nathaniel Rogers 
was ordained to the work of the ministry and the 
chnrge of the church and congregation in this town. 

The Earl of Bellomont arrived in New-Hamp- 
shire on the 31st of July ; and published his com- 
mission. The people were greatly elated with this 
change ; they now saw at the head of the govern- 
ment, a nobleman distinguished for his polite accom- 
plishments and talents, and who had no interest in 
oppressing them. 

Partridge had withdrawn from the Council dur- 
ing the contest under Allen's administration, but as 
soon as this change took place he resumed his office 
of Lieutenant Governor. The suspended Counsel- 
lors were likewise admitted to their seats at the 
Council board. 

The Governor issued his proclamation command- 
ing all Justices of the Peace and Constables to con- 
tinue in the exercise of their respective offices. 
Richard Jose was appointed Sheriff instead of Ar- 
dell, and Charles Story Secretary, instead of Sheafe. 

The Earl of Bellomont remained here about eigh- 
teen days, and upon his departure the administration 
devolved upon Partridge. Laws having been en- 
acted for the new arrangement of the Courts of 
Law, the Lieutenant Governor and Council ap- 
pointed John Hinkes Chief Justice of the Superior 
Court, and Peter Coffin, John Gerrish, and John 
Plaisted, Assistants. Richard Partridge, son of the 
Lieutenant Governor, was appointed Clerk. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. U5 

1700. 

The first Superior Court after the new appoint- 
ment of Judges, was held on the 13th of February 
at the house of John Pickering, jun. 

Allen caused several suits to be commenced for 
recovering possession of the lands he claimed in 
New-Hampshire, which were brought by appeal to 
the Superior Court, and at August term decided 
against him. He claimed an appeal to the King in 
Council, which was refused him. Allen then peti- 
tioned the King for liberty to appeal, which was 
granted, provided he prosecuted the same within 
eight months. About this time Samuel Penhallow, 
Esq. was appointed Collector of the port of Ports- 
mouth. 

1701. 

At February term Theodore Atkinson was ap- 
pointed Clerk of the Superior Court. 

The Earl of Bellomont died at New- York on the 
5th of March. Although he had remained but a 
short time in the province on his visit here, his easy 
manners, courteous deportment, and other pleasing 
accomplishments, had so much endeared him to the 
people, that his death was greatly lamented. It was 
likewise a subject of deep regret to the inhabitants 
ef the other provinces under his command. 



116 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Allen employed Usher to take care of his appeal 
before the King in Council, and as security for what 
he already owed him, and to indemnify him for his 
expenses on this occasion, he mortgaged to him one 
half the province for fifteen hundred pounds. 

1702. 

The Assembly met on the 29th of May, and ap- 
pointed Major Vaughan agent for the province, and 
gave him direction to defend the causes for the 
appellees, which were then pending before the 
King in Council upon Allen's appeal. They consid- 
ered the public interested in these decisions, and 
made provision for defraying the expense. Funds 
were provided for the purpose, and their agent 
authorized to draw in case of emergency. 

Whilst these suits were pending. King William 
died, and was succeeded by Queen Anne. She 
appointed Joseph Dudley, formerly President of 
New-England, Governor of Massachusetts and New- 
Hampshire, and he published his commission in this 
town on the 11th of July. The Assembly immedi- 
ately established his salary by law, during his con- 
tinuance in office. 

On the trial of the appeals before the Queen in 
Council, the former judgments were affirmed, upon 
the ground that Allen had not proved that Mason 
was ever in possession of the lands. Allen, howev- 
ever, had permission to commence his actions anew 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 117 

in the Courts of New-Hampshire to try his title to 
the lands, or for the quit rents for the same. 

1703. 

The peace which succeeded the treaty of Rys- 
wick, continued but a short time. Contentions 
arose between the French and English as to the 
extent and boundaries of their provincial territories. 
The French sent missionaries among the Indians, 
and supplied them with arms and ammunition. 
They built a chapel at Norridgewalk for their use, 
which was under the superintendance of Father 
Sebastian Ralle, a Jesuit, who resided there. He 
was a man of great address, and by accommodating 
himself to their mode of life, obtained unbounded 
influence over them. He instructed them in those 
doctrines of the Catholic Church, which best served 
to keep them in subjection to him, and availed him- 
self of their propensity to superstition to promote 
his own purpose. The Indians at Norridgewalk, 
and the neighbouring tribes, were entirely subject to 
his control, and he followed the directions of the 
Governor of Canada. Some suspicions of their hos- 
tile intentions had taken place, and Governor Dud- 
ley determined to visit the eastern country for the 
purpose of ascertaining the fact. On the 20th of 
June he proceeded to Casco, accompanied by some 
persons from both provinces, and there held a con- 
ference with the deputies from several tribes. They 



118 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

assured him in their strong and figurative language, 
that ^^ as high as the sun was above the earth, so far 
distant was their design of making the least breach 
of the peace/' and that " their union was firm as a 
mountain, and should continue as long as the sun and 
moon ;*'' and in token of their sincerity, presented 
him a belt of wampum. But notwithstanding all 
these fair promises, on the 10th of August, assisted 
by the French, they made an attack on the eastern 
settlements, and <^ killed and captured one hundred 
and thirty persons." On the 17th of August they 
killed five persons at Hampton village. These 
attacks excited great alarm ; the women and child- 
ren took refuge in the garrisons, and the men went 
armed to their labour ; troops of horse were 
stationed in this town, to be ready to pursue the 
enemy in case of another attack. A line of Pickets 
was established on the west side of the town, which 
extended from the mill-pond on the south, to the 
creek on the north, to defend against incursions of 
the enemy by land. 

On the 26th of July, Usher obtained a second 
commission, appointing him Lieutenant Governor of 
New-Hampshire ; '^ but was restricted from inter- 
fering with the appointment of Judges or Juries, or 
otherwise in matters relating to the disputes between 
Allen and the inhabitants." He returned to this 
country and took his seat in the Council on the 27th 
of October. Partridge was present, and the next 
day requested his dismission on account of the ur- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 119 

gency of his private business, which was granted. 
He removed soon after to Newbury, and devoted 
the remainder of his days to mercantile transactions. 
Usher was very desirous of having the papers which 
Pickering had taken from Chamberlayne, deposited 
in the Secretary's office, and made use of all his 
address to procure them, but without effect. He 
supposed that all the papers relating to Mason's 
suits were among them. The Recorder was ap- 
pointed by the Assembly and entirely under their 
control. He would not deliver any papers but by 
their directions. Usher applied to the Lords of 
Trade, and obtained their order for their removal to 
the Secretary's office, which he produced on the 
4th of November. Penhallow was at this time Re- 
corder, as well as Counsellor. Application was made 
to him for them, but he absolutely "refused to de- 
liver them unless authorized by a vote of the Gene- 
ral Court." 

Late in December, Allen entered upon and took 
possession of all the common lands within the boun- 
daries of the several townships, under pretence of li- 
cense from the Queen ; and he commenced his actions 
anew to determine his title to the improved lands. 

1704. 

Allen's suit was depending before the Superior 
Court at August term, and the Court was adjourned 
several times that Governor Dudley might be pres- 



120 ArWALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ent at the trial. The Governor however was taken 
sick on the road, and the trial proceeded without 
him. The Jury found a verdict for the defendant, 
and judgment was rendered thereon ; from which 
Allen appealed to the Queen in Council. Both 
parties grew tired of this continual litigation, and 
propositions were made for a settlement ; Allen of- 
fered to convey his right upon very advantageous 
terms. 

The last of October, the Rev. Mr. Rogers' house, 
accidentally took fire in the night, and was entire- 
ly consumed together with most of his furniture. 
Mrs. Ellison, the aged mother of Mrs. Rogers, was 
so much burnt that she survived but a few weeks. 
A female infant child of Mr. Rogers, seventeen 
months old, and a negro woman, perished in the 
flames. 

At a meeting of the selectmen on the 4th of No- 
vember, they " agreed to give the Rev. Nathaniel 
Rogers, who, by the Providence of God, lost his 
house and substance by fire, eight pounds a year for 
house-rent till such time as he should be otherwise 
provided for. 

1705. 

On the 29th of April the town voted to assist Mr. 
Rogers in building a house upon his own land, and 
promised to give him one hundred and fifty pounds 
if he would relinquish all demands he might have 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 121 

on the town for house-hire, in consequence of their 
former vote, tS* which Mr. Rogers agreed. At the 
same meeting the town voted to divide the twelve 
acres of the glebe, situated near the parsonage- 
house, into lots, and to lease out the same, appro- 
priating the rents for the benefit of the minister, 
reserving convenient places for a meeting-house, 
Court-house, alms-house, and burying-ground. And 
to this vote Mr. Rogers also gave his assent. 

May 3d. A Convention of deputies from the 
several towns in the province met in this place to 
agree upon terms of settlement with Allen. After 
a short consultation they came to a determination, 
and presented their proposals to him, which he re- 
ceived for the purpose of examining, and taking 
into consideration. But these prospects of a settle- 
ment were cut off by the death of Allen. He died 
very suddenly on the 5th of May, in the seventieth 
year of his age, and left one son to inherit the con- 
tention ; which would perhaps have been put to 
rest, if his life had been spared a few days longer. 

Allen was a merchant of some eminence in Lon- 
don ; and sustained an unblemished character, well 
established for probity and integrity. He was of a 
placid temper, rather unsocial and reserved, chari- 
table in his disposition, and benevolent to such as 
were proper objects of his beneficence. He was 
induced for the sake of gain to enter into land spec- 
ulations, but his hopes were delusive. Like those, 
who had pursued the same course before him, he 
16 



122 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

found his labours attended with perplexity and ex- 
pense, without reaping any of the expected reward. 
On the 4th of June the town voted, that the in- 
habitants of Greenland, in consideration of their 
numbers, distance they had to travel, and danger of 
passing to public worship, be paid out of the town ' 
stock their proportion of one hundred pounds a 
year, raised for the support of the minister, during 
their maintenance of an able minister amongst them, 
and no longer. The bounds of Greenland were fix- 
ed at the south side of Colonel Packer's farm. 

1706. 

Thomas Allen, the only son of Governor Allen, 
obtained permission of the Queen to commence the 
suits anew to settle the title to the lands in New- 
Hampshire. He conveyed one half the province to 
Sir Charles Hobby, and commenced his action of 
ejectment against Waldron at August term. 

Since the renewal of hostilities the Indians in \ 
small parties hovered round the frontiers, doing mis- 
chief as opportunity offered. They kept the coun- 
try in continual alarm, and eight or ten people were ■ j 
murdered by them at one house at Oyster river. 
The women of the neighbourhood, whose husbands 
were absent, assembled at a garrison-house, and 
having put on their husband's jackets and hats, de- 
fended the garrison bravely, when it was attacked, 
and obliged the enemy to retreat. ]l 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 123 

Colonel Schuyler, of Albany, informed Governor 
Dudley that a party of two hundred and seventy 
men were about to march from Canada to the fron- 
tiers of New-England, and it was uncertain where 
they would make their attack. They were first 
discovered at Dunstable, where they surprised and 
burned a garrison-house, in which were twenty sol- 
diers ; and they extended their ravages on the fron- 
tiers of New-Hampshire as far as Piscataqua river. 

Colonel Hilton marched from Exeter with sixty- 
four men, but for want of provisions was obliged to 
return without meeting the enemy. He was a 
brave and active officer, and on that account the 
Indians had determined to waylay and destroy him. 
A party for this purpose, were lurking about his 
garrison to observe the motion of his people. Ten 
of them went out with their scythes, and having 
laid their arms aside, began to mow. The Indians 
rushed suddenly upon them, killed four, wounded 
one, and took three captive, so that only two of the 
ten, escaped. 

1707. 

Colonel Hilton, with two hundred and twenty men, 
visited the frontiers in the spring ; but the weather 
being mild he could not traverse the woods so far as 
he expected. He came to an Indian track, which 
he followed, and killed four Indians and took a 
squaw and her papoose prisoners. She conducted 



124 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

him to a neck of land, where he surprised eighteen 
Indians as they lay asleep, and he killed seventeen 
of them, and made the other a prisoner. 

In the spring an expedition was fitted out against 
Port Royal, which proved abortive. 

During the summer several individuals were kil- 
led at different places. 

At Oyster river a party of thirty Indians made a 
furious attack on Captain Chesley, who, with a small 
company, were cutting timber in the woods. At 
the first fire they killed seven, and mortally wound- 
ed another. Captain Chesley, with the few men he 
had left, made a vigorous resistance, but were soon 
overpowered by numbers, and his party entirely i 
cut off. His death was much regretted : he was a 
brave ofiicer, and twice commanded a company in 
the expeditions against Port Royal. 

Allen's cause against Waldron was tried at Au- 
gust term of the Superior Court, and judgment ren- 
dered in favour of the defendant. Allen appealed 
to the Queen in Council, but the cause was never 
brought to a decision, 

1708. 

A large body of French and Indians, marched 
this year from Canada, destined against the frontiers 
of New-England. Governor Dudley received infor- 
mation of their intentions by way of Albany, and 
sent out troops to guard the most exposed places. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 125 

They made their attack on Haverhill, where they 
did considerable mischief ; but their number being 
much diminished by casualties on their march, they 
returned without doing any further damage. In 
the winter Colonel Hilton, with two hundred and 
seventy men, went to Pigwacket in search of the 
enemy, but returned without meeting any of them. 

1709. 

The frontiers were kept in continual alarm. Four 
persons were taken prisoners at Exeter, and one was 
killed at Oyster river, and the people were confined 
to the garrisons in expectation that another body of 
Indians were on their march against them from 
Canada. 

1710. 

The Country sustained a severe loss this year in 
the death of Colonel Winthrop Hilton. He was en- 
gaged in procuring masts, and with seventeen men 
went about fourteen miles into the woods to secure 
some trees, he had felled for the purpose. The 
Indians lay in ambush, and attacked him in an un- 
guarded moment. They killed Hilton and two of 
his men at the first fire, and took two prisoners, the 
rest fled precipitately. The next day an hundred 
men went in pursuit of the enemy, but did not over- 
take them. They found the mangled bodies of their 



126 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

slaughtered friends and decently interred them. Co- 
lonel Hilton was a person of a very pleasant disposi- 
tion, of undaunted courage and bravery, and much 
sliilled in the Indian mode of warfare. He was a 
great terror to the savages, and they had for a long 
time sought his destruction ; his death was to them, 
a cause of much triumph, but vt'as deeply lamented 
by his friends and acquaintance. 

Another expedition was formed this year against 
Port Royal. Five frigates and a bomb-ketch were 
sent from England, and the several provinces raised 
their quotas of men, of whom New-Hampshire fur- 
nished one hundred, and put them under the com. 
mand of Colonel Shadrach Walton. The whole 
armament sailed from Boston, and arrived at the 
place of their destination the 18th of September. 
The fortress soon surrendered, and the city, in hon- 
our of the Queen, was called Annapolis. 

1711. 

The capture of Port Royal gave some check to 
the enemy, but did not prevent their making in- 
roads upon the English settlements. They came in 
small parties and committed a few acts of hostilities 
en the outskirts. But it was evident that an entire 
stop could not be put to their depredations, as long 
as the French kept possession of Canada. Colonel 
Nicholson went to England and made such represen- 
tations to the British Court that he obtained orders 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 127 

for a sufficient force, to drive the French from the 
country. The Queen sent over fifteen ships of war 
and frigates, a battalion of marines, and five thou- 
sand veteran troops, who arrived at Boston the 8th 
of June. The Colonies furnished about fifteen hun- 
dred men, of whom New-Hampshire raised one 
hundred, and placed them under the command of 
Colonel Walton. The fleet sailed from Boston the 
30th of July, and had advanced a short distance 
within the river St. Lawrence, when, on the night 
of the 23d of August, nine of the transports, with 
fifteen hundred men, were cast ashore, most of 
whom were lost. The fleet returned to England, 
and the New-England forces came home. The fail- 
ure of this expedition was a source of great mortifi- 
cation to the Colonies. Their hopes were sanguine 
that with such an adequate force, they should soon 
dislodge such troublesome neighbours. 

September 24th. The town voted to build a 
new meeting-house on the corner of the glebe land, 
which should be the stated meeting-house of the 
town, and that Mr. Rogers should be the settled 
minister of the same. 

1712. 

The war had continued a long time and been con- 
ducted in the usual mode in which savages carried 
on their hostilities. They made their attacks in 
small parties upon those, whom they found unguard- 



128 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 



ed and defenceless. They advanced without excit- 
ing suspicion ; until they struck the deadly blowy 
and then they retreated with precipitation, and 
could seldom be found. The frontier settlements 
were the most exposed, and generally suffered most 
by their depredations. This town escaped without 
experiencing any particular calamity, but the inhab- 
itants were kept in continual alarm, and were sub- 
ject to many embarrassments and hardships, usually 
attendant upon a state of war. Commissioners had 
met at Utrecht to fix on terms of peace. A cessa- 
tion of hostilities was agreed on, which was pro- 
claimed here the 29th of October. The Indians, as 
soon as they heard of this event, sent in a flag of 
truce, and desired peace. 

1713. 

The treaty of Utrecht established a peace between 
the belligerant powers of Europe and their depen- 
dencies. The Indians, no longer supported by the 
French, were desirous of a respite from war. Gov- 
ernor Dudley held a treaty in this town on the 11th 
of July, with the chiefs and deputies from the seve- 
ral tribes who had been engaged in the war, and a 
solemn covenant for peace was drawn up, and exe- 
cuted in a formal manner under the hands and seals 
of the parties. 

The fixing of a site for a meeting-house, has fre- 
quently been the source of warm contention. The 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 129 

first meeting-house in this town situated on the 
south side of the mill-dam, had been standing up- 
wards of fifty-eight years, and was much out of re- 
pair. The majority of the town had voted to build 
another on the north east corner of the glebe, which 
was nearly completed, but a large party in town 
had been opposed to it. On the 7th of January the 
church authorised and directed Mr. Rogers " on 
the next Sabbath come sen'night to preach in the 
new meeting-house, and to continue preaching there 
as formerly at the old meeting, and to perform all 
other offices, which appertain to his function.'' 

The opposition consisted principally of the inhab- 
itants at the south end, .of whom Captain John Pick- 
ering took the lead. On the 9th of September they 
held a town-meeting and chose Captain Pickering 
moderator, and for the sake of giving him more 
influence, and some agency in the business, they 
likewise chose him a selectman. The other select- 
men objected to him because he was one of the 
assessors. Great disorders and tumults ensued. 
The selectmen desired the justices present to dis- 
solve the meeting, to prevent further disorders ; 
and they accordingly declared the meeting dissolved 
and forbad all further proceedings. Notwithstand- 
ing which the moderator put a number of votes, 
which were passed by the party adhering to him, of 
which he kept the minutes, as the town clerk refused 
to act. The purport of the votes was, " that the 
©Id meeting-house, built by the town about fifty- 
17 



130 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

eight years agon, shall continue the town-meeting- 
house forever ; and when out of repair, so that it 
cannot conveniently be repaired, to build a new one 
on the place. That the glebe land formerly given 
by the town for the use of the ministry, shall all 
wholly remain to the use and benefit of the minister 
that shall continue preaching and supplying the 
place of the ministry in said house, or such one as 
shall be built in that place.''' And a committee was 
chosen " to discourse with Mr. Rogers and know 
whether he will continue the town's minister in 
preaching in said house during his abode in town, 
according to former agreement with the town ; and 
if he refuses to supply the place of the ministry in 
said house, then said committee to use their endeav- 
our for procuring an able minister to supply the 
place of the ministry in said house, and to agree 
with such person for his salary, which agreement so 
made with such person, the town shall and doth en- 
gage to make good in all respects, to be done by 
way of rate on all persons and estates in equal pro- 
portion, by the selectmen that shall be chosen from 
year to year." These votes were entered on the 
town-book, and certified by John Pickering as mod- 
erator to have been legally passed in town-meeting 
by a majority of the inhabitants. 

Mr. Rogers followed the directions of his church 
and ofliciated in the new meeting-house. The in- 
habitants of the south part of the town continued 
to meet for public worship in the old house^ and the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 131 

committee appointed at the above meeting, invited 
the Rev. Mr. Emerson, formerly the minister of 
New-Castle, but who had been dismissed from that 
parish the last year, to settle with them, and offer- 
ed him one hundred pounds, the strangers' contri 
tribution, and the parsonage-house, which terms 
Mr. Emerson accepted. 

The inhabitants of Bloody-Point, with ^^ a few of 
the outskirts" of this town, petitioned the General 
Assembly to be made a separate and distinct parish 
from Dover and Portsmouth. The parties were 
heard on the 16th of July, and it was " ordered 
that the petition be granted, and the place made a 
parish by themselves, and that they forthwith estab- 
lish an able, orthodox, and learned minister among 
them, and be henceforth acquitted from the support 
of the ministry of Dover and Portsmouth." His 
Excellency Governor Dudley named the parish at 
Bloody-Point, Newington. 

1714. 

As the town considered the proceedings of the 
meeting held the 9th of September last, illegal, at a 
general town-meeting held the 7th of June, they 
chose a committee of five persons for calling and 
settling an orthodox and learned minister on the 
south side of the mill-dam ; and voted to allow him 
one hundred pounds per annum out of the town- 
stock, and to provide a house for him at the public 
charge. 



132 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1715. 

The Rev. John Emerson was installed on the 28th 
of March, to the pastoral cfiarge of the parish which 
assembled at the old meeting-house near Pickering's 
mill-dam. Rev. Christopher Toppan of Hampton, 
in presence of Rev. Caleb dishing, and Rev. The- 
ophilus Cotton, gave him the customary charge. 
Mr. Rogers did not assist in these services, and it 
is said that he and his church were dissatisfied with 
Mr. Emerson's being settled there. 

George Vaughan, son of Major William Vaughan, 
had been employed in England as an agent for the 
province, which brought him into notice with many 
persons of influence about the Court. The acquaint- 
ance and connexion his father had formed there, 
and the good opinion entertained of him by some 
high in rank and authority, were of essential service 
to the son. Upon their recommendation he was ap- 
pointed Lieutenant Governor of New-Hampshire. 
As he was a native of the province and had the 
confidence of the people, this appointment was very 
agreeable to them, and particularly gratifying to his 
father, who was now in the decline of life. Mr. 
Vaughan returned to his native place and published 
his commission here on the 13th of October. Elise- 
us Burgess was appointed Governor of Massachusetts 
and New-Hampshire ; but remained still in England. 
As Governor Dudley was in daily expectation of his 
arrival, he did not visit this province, so that the gov- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 133 

ernment was administered by Vaughan. As soon as 
he commenced his administration, Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Usher bid adieu to public life, and retired to 
a very elegant seat, which he owned in Medford, 
where he passed the remainder of his days. Mr. 
Usher was born in Boston, and followed the business 
of a stationer there. He sustained a fair character 
as a trader, and by close attention to his business 
acquired a large property. He laboured under the 
disadvantage of not having received an early educa- 
tion. In his intercourse with mankind his manners 
were austere ; an affected superiority rendered him 
unpopular. He continued to reside in Boston after 
his appointment of Lieutenant Governor, and pur- 
sued his former employment with unremitted ardor. 
He frequently visited the province under pretence 
of discharging the duties of his office, to which he 
attached great importance. His expectations of in- 
creasing his fortune were fallacious, and disappoint- 
ment accompanied every attempt to enrich himself 
in the province. He died at Medford, September 
5th, 1726, in the 78th year of his age. 

Lieutenant Governor Vaughan caused an assembly 
to be summoned, which met on the 8th of Novem- 
ber. 

The General Court made him a grant of the mo- 
ney raised by the impost and excise for one year, 
but refused to continue those duties any longer, up- 
on which he dissolved them. 



134 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1716. 

The animosity, excited in the town by the erec- 
tion of a new parish, still subsisted and produc- 
ed unpleasant controversies among the inhabi- 
tants. The selectmen neglected to pay Mr. Em- 
erson's salary, in consequence of which some of 
them were arrested. The town resented this pro- 
ceeding, and on the 26th of March voted, " That 
if any lawsuit on the like occasion be again com- 
menced, that it be impleaded at the expense of the 
town, for that he is not the settled minister of the 
town, pursuant to order of the government and vote 
of the town of 1714." 

These altercations not only interrupted the har- 
mony in town affairs, but extended also to the pro- 
vincial government. Several members of the Coun- 
cil and Assembly belonged to this town, and took 
different sides in the dispute. Their prejudices led 
them to the same opposition on whatever question 
came before them. 

Lieutenant Governor Vaughan summoned a new 
assembly, which met the 21st of August, and re- 
commended to them the '' establishment of a per- 
petual revenue to the King." The Assembly chose 
to raise the money for the support of government, 
in the usual manner by direct tax on polls and es- 
tates, and declined granting any impost. 

Governor Shute arrived on the 17th of October, 
when a great change was made in the Council, Se- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 135 

veral of the old Counsellors were dropped, and six 
new ones, all belonging to this town, were ap- 
pointed. 

1717. 

Governor Shute met the Assembly on the 10th of 
January, and in his speech took notice of the ani- 
mosity which prevailed among them, and recom- 
mended a more conciliatory disposition. In their 
answer they mentioned the removal of the old Coun- 
sellors as a grievance, and stated that all the new 
appointments, as well in the Council, as in the 
Judicial Courts, were confined to the inhabitants of 
Portsmouth, which gave an advantage to the trading 
over the landed interest. An altercation having 
taken place between the Governor and House of 
Representatives with respect to issuing bills on loan, 
he dissolved them ; and caused a new assembly to 
be summoned, who passed an act for issuing fifteen 
thousand pounds in bills on loan, for eleven years 
at ten per cent. 

The town continued to show their resentment 
towards Mr. Emerson, and those that abetted him ; 
on the 25th of March they passed the following 
vote, viz. ^^ Whereas by virtue of a pretended 
vote on the 9th of September, 1713, there is a 
sham agreement made with Mr. Emerson to officiate 
as a minister at the old meeting-house, the same be- 
ing clandestinely put upon record, voted, that the 



1S6 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

same be null, and rased out of the town-book, for 
that he the said Emerson is not a legal settled minis- 
ter of this town." 

Lieutenant Governor Vaughan claimed the right 
to exercise the power of Commander in Chief, when- 
ever the Governor was not actually within the prov- 
ince. He asserted that whenever the Governor was 
in Massachusetts, he was absent from New-Hamp- 
shire, and that his authority here ceased, or at least 
was suspended until his return. However true this 
might be in fact, Shute contended that as he was com- 
missioned for both provinces, he was within his juris- 
diction when he resided in either, and his command 
extended over both. Shute sent Vaughan an order 
to prorogue the General Court, instead of wiiich 
he dissolved them. Penhallow, one of the Council, 
adhered to the Governor and opposed Vaughan's 
pretensions. This irritated Vaughan very highly, 
and the next time they met at the Council-board, 
which was on the 24th of September, he concluded 
a very intemperate speech in the following manner : 
" What I have to say to you, Mr. Penhallow, is in 
gross, and is, that your business for a long time 
has been to sow discord in the commonwealth, and 
you endeavour to propagate confusion and diffe- 
rence in each town within the government ; when 
avowed principles oblige you to solder as much as 
in you lies, the affections of magistrates and people, 
thereby to divert all things which naturally produce 
dissentions, tumults, and feuds, the particulars I 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 137 

have, and shall transmit to my Lord the King, in 
whose name, and by virtue of whose power, I sus- 
pend you, Samuel Penhallow, from sitting, vot- 
ing, and assisting at the Council-board, till his 
Majesty's pleasure shall be known." As soon as 
Governor Shute heard of these proceedings, he came 
to this town with all possible dispatch, convened 
the Council, reinstated Penhallow, and suspended 
Vaughan. When these proceedings were transmit- 
ted to England, and laid before the King, he saw fit 
to remove Vaughan from office, and appointed John 
Wentworth Lieutenant iGrovernor in his stead. His 
commission was signed by the celebrated Joseph 
Addison, who was at this time. Secretary of State, 
and was published here on the 7th of December. 

1718. 

About this time the Indians began to be trouble- 
some. When they had an inclination for war, pre- 
texts were seldom wanting. The French were al- 
ways ready to excite jealousies and discontent among 
them. The Governor of Canada kept up a contin- 
ual correspondence with Ralle, and through his in- 
fluence encouraged them to acts of depredations. He 
secretly engaged to supply them with arms and ammu- 
nition ; and increased their prejudices against the En- 
glish by exaggerating the causes of their discontent. 
The Indians complained that the treaties made with 
them, had been violated, that trading houses had 
18 



138 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

not been established among them, nor smiths provid- 
ed to keep their guns in order as had been stipulat- 
ed. That encroachments had been made on their 
hunting grounds, which drove off their game, and 
that the building mills and dams on their rivers and 
streams had destroyed their fisheries. Under pre- 
tence of seeking redress, they insulted the settlers, 
killed their cattle, and burnt their corn. 

1719. 

The Honourable Theodore Atkinson was born in 
Boston ; his ancestors lived at Bury in the coun- 
ty of Lancaster in England ; his grandfather mi- 
grated to this country about the year 1634, and 
settled in Boston, where he possessed a large real 
estate; he owned seven acres of land near Fort 
Hill, which was called the pasture. He likewise 
owned land on Atkinson-street, which was called 
after his name, and on Berry-street, which was so 
called from Bury, the place of his nativity, having 
undergone a slight change in its orthography. The 
grandson removed to this town in 1694, and settled 
at Great-Island, which was at that time a place of 
considerable importance, and the most populous part 
of the town. He there engaged very largely in 
trade and fishery. In 1701 he was appointed Clerk 
of the Superior Court of Judicature for the prov- 
ince, which office he held several years ; he was 
intrusted with various other important offices, which 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 139 

he executed with great fidelity, and was much be- 
loved by the people. He died on the 6th of May 
this year, and his death was considered a public loss. 
Considerable quantities of iron ore, had been dis- 
covered in several places, and a number of opulent 
merchants in this town, proposed to erect works on 
Lamprey river, for manufacturing iron. They de- 
termined to procure workmen from Europe, but 
they wanted to obtain a tract of land in the neigh- 
bourhood, which would furnish a suificiency of fuel, 
and on which they might settle their labourers. 
The General Court of Massachusetts, whilst this 
province was subject to their government, had en- 
gaged to " grant the town of Portsmouth, a quantity 
of land for a village, when they should declare to 
the Court the place where they desired it," in re- 
turn for their liberal contribution to Harvard Col- 
lege in 1672. The town neglected to apply for 
their grant till the 25th of March the present year, 
when they chose a committee <* to address the Gene- 
ral Assembly at their next sessions to obtain order 
for laying out the six mile-square of land at the 
head of Oyster river, formerly granted by the Mas- 
sachusetts to the town of Portsmouth." The peti- 
tion was preferred to the Governor and Council, 
who granted to the inhabitants of Portsmouth a slip 
of land at the head of Dover line, two miles in 
breadth for the use of the iron works. This was 
called the two mile-slip, and has since been included 
in the township of Barrington. 



140 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, was first 
noticed in New-England on the 11th of December. 
The appearance was very remarkable, and struck 
the minds of the beholders with surprise. The co- 
ruscations were distinctly heard, and the northern 
hemisphere seemed to be on fire. 

1720. 

The Indians committed so many acts of hostility, 
that several persons were obliged to leave their 
habitations and remove to more settled parts of the 
country. Scouting parties were sent out, which 
kept them under some restraint. 

1721. 

All the mischiefs perpetrated by the Indians were 
attributed to Ralle. He had them so absolutely un- 
der his control, that they undertook no expedition 
without his direction, or consent. It was thought 
that if he could be arrested and brought off", they 
would be peaceable ; but how to accomplish this 
design, was attended with difficulty. They could 
not expect to [effect it by surprize ; an open force 
would meet with opposition, and war had not yet 
been declared by either party. 

A conference was held at the garrison commanded 
by Captain Penhallow, on Arrowsic Island, between 
him and the Indians, at which Ralle and two other 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 141 

missionaries were present ; but it ended without 
coming to any friendly conclusion. The English 
attempted to have another conference with them, 
without the presence of the French priests, but did 
not succeed. 

In the winter, a party commanded by Colonel 
Thomas Westbrook, were sent to Norridgewolk to 
seize Raile. They approached near his house un- 
discovered ; but he had sufiicient notice of their 
intention to escape from them, and conceal himself 
in the woods. They searched his house, and found 
his trunk, which was of a curious construction, cov- 
ered with brass-plate, and secured with two locks. 
It contained a secret apartment, which was not easi- 
ly discovered even after the trunk was opened. In 
this apartment were found the letters from the 
Governor of Canada to Ralle, requesting him to ex- 
cite the Indians to war, and promising to supply 
them. Disappointed in the principal object of their 
expedition, they returned home without doing any 
other injury than bringing off the trunk and papers. 

1722. 

March 26. The town ^^ voted, that the village 
of New-Portsmouth, be divided amongst the inhab- 
itants of the town of Portsmouth, according to their 
town-rate in the year 1721 ; and that no man be 
accounted an inhabitant but those persons who have 
been rated for four years last past." 



142 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Ralle highly resented the attempt to make him a 
prisoner, and excited the Indians to avenge the in- 
sult. They became more active in their attacks up- 
on the defenceless inhabitants, took several prisoners 
whom they sent to Canada, and at length destroyed the 
town of Brunswick. Upon this the Governments of 
Massachusetts and New- Hampshire, made a formal 
declaration of war against them, which was pro- 
claimed in this town on the 25th of July. Every 
necessary precaution was adopted for defence against 
their inroads. The garrisons were well supplied 
with provisions and military stores, and scouting 
parties were kept on the alert to check the pro- 
gress of the enemy. Lieutenant Governor Went- 
worth exerted himself to have every preparation 
for the service made in season. He visited the 
garrisons in person, encouraged the soldiers to a 
faithful discharge of their duty, and made every 
provision in his power for their comfortable sub- 
sistence, and prompt pay. The General Court ac- 
knowledged his unremitted attention to the interest 
of the province, and made him frequent grants of 
raoney. 

The right of ferriage between this town and Kit- 
tery, had always been claimed by the town, but 
their right was not founded on any legislative or 
legal grant. This year they chose a committee to 
sue for and get the ferry, and to let out the same by 
lease, for five or seven years. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 143 

1723. 

The administration of Governor Shute had given 
latisfaction to the inhabitants of this province, but 
n Massachusetts there was a violent opposition to 
lira, which kept him in a continual state of uneasi- 
less and perplexity. He obtained leave to return 
;o England, and sailed on the 1st of June. He was 
laturally of a humane, obliging, and friendly dis- 
josition ; but impatient of contradiction and easily 
rritated. His departure was unexpected, and 
Lieutenant Governor Wentworth became Command- 
;r in Chief. 

In the course of the summer the Indians appear- 
ed in several of the neighbouring towns, killed a 
lumber of persons, and took a few prisoners ; but 
:hey did not visit this place. 

The Rev. Nathaniel Rogers departed this life on 
the 3d day of October, and was buried in the ancient 
burial ground, usually called the Point-of -Graves. 
A. monument was erected over his grave, with a 
date inserted in the top, on which was inscribed the 
rollowing epitaph : 

Hie sepelitur reverendus Nathaniel Rogers, A. M. 

Jesu Christi minister fidelis ; 

Prosapia studiis evangeliis devota 

oriundus ; 

ingenio, eruditione, integritate 

moribusque suavissimis 

valde ornatus ; 

benevolentiae fidei, pietatis 



144 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

exemplar illnstre ; 

theologiae consultissimus ; 

concionator praeclarus ; 

ecclesiaepastor vigilantissimus ; 

natus est Ipsvici, 7 mo kalendas martii, 

MDCLXIX. 

In Jesu sinum efflavit animam 

5 to nonas Octobris, 

MDCCXXIII. 



1724. 

On the 2(1 day of January the north parish agreed 
to give a call to Mr. Hancock to be their minister, 
in the room of the good Mr. Rogers, deceased, and 
offered him one hundred and thirty pounds per an- 
num, and the contribution of strangers. Mr. Han- 
cock informed the committee, who waited on him, 
^' That he desires time to consider of it, and confer 
with his friends." Mr. Hancock preached here a 
short time, and the parish afterwards gave an invi- 
tation to the Rev. Jabez Fitch, which he accepted. 
He was the son of the Rev. James Fitch of Norwich, 
Connecticut ; was educated at Harvard College, and 
was graduated in 1694. He was elected one of the 
tutors, and during his residence at Cambridge, he was 
invited to settle at Ipswich as a colleague with the 
Rev. John Rogers, to which of&ce he was ordained 
in 1703. He preached to that people about twenty 
years, and left them, for want of a competent sup- 
port, on the 13th December, 1723, and in the course 
of the next summer he settled here. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 145 

This year the Indians were very troublesome. 
They began their depredations in the neighbour- 
hood of this town the 1st of May, and continued 
them through the summer. The settlements at Do- 
ver and Oyster river (now Durham) were particu- 
larly exposed, and suffered more than any other 
places. Government offered a bounty of one hun- 
dred pounds for every Indian scalp, which induced 
a number of persons to form volunteer companies to 
range the woods in search of them. One of these 
companies fell in with three Indians at Oyster riv- 
er; they killed one of them, who appeared to be a 
person of distinction, by some peculiarities in his 
dress. ^' He wore a coronet of fur of a scarlet col- 
our, to which were attached four small bells, by the 
sound of which, his party were directed in following 
him. His hair was remarkably soft and fine. He 
had with him a devotional book, and a muster roll ; 
on which were the names of one hundred and eighty 
Indians. It was supposed that he was the natural son 
of Ralle. To put a stop to these incursions, the 
j governments of Massachusetts and New-Hampshire 
i agreed to send two comp^inies of one hundred men 
! each, to Norridgewolk. They were put under com- 
mand of Captains Moulton and Herman of York, 
who were successful in accomplishing the design of 
the expedition. They reached the village undis- 
covered, and took the inhabitants by surprise, killed 
Ralle and about eighty of his Indians, destroyed the 
ehapel^ and brought off the plate and furniture 
19 



146 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

of the altar. Ralle was in the sixty-eighth year of 
his age, and had resided at Norridgewolk twenty -six 
years. 

The Indians continued their ravages on the fron- 
tiers, although the destruction of the village at 
Norridgewolk gave them a considerable check. A 
volunteer company of thirty men, commanded by 
Captain John Lovewell, marched to the northward of 
Winnipiseogee lake, where they discovered a man 
and boy ; the former they killed and scalped, and 
carried the boy a prisoner to Boston. 

The inhabitants of the town, situated near Sandy 
Beach, were desirous of being erected into a sepa- 
rate town or parish, and made application therefor 
to the General Assembly. Upon receiving notice of 
the petition the town voted, ^' That the prayer of 
Sandy Beach is highly unreasonable," and chose a 
committee to remonstrate against the same, ^^so that 
there may be no further curtailing or dividing the 
town, which is already reduced to very narrow lim- 
its by New-Castle, Greenland, and Newington." 

Sampson Sheafe was born in Boston, in the year 
1650. He engaged in mercantile business, and 
possessed a large real estate there. In 1675 he 
removed to this town and resided at Great-Island, 
where he carried on the fishery and navigation. 
During his residence here, he was Collector of the 
customs. In 1677 he contracted with George Jaf- 
frey of Boston, merchant, to remove to Great-Island, 
and there take possession of his (said Sheafe's) 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 147 

goods, houses, lands, and wharves, and to take 
charge of and manage all the said Sheafe's business 
in a mercantile manner, and to do and transact no 
other business, except for said Sheafe, or by his ex- 
press direction or consent ; for which services, Mr. 
Sheafe was to pay him forty pounds lawful money 
of New-England, a year, and to find and allow him 
good and sufficient meat and drink, washing and 
lodging. When Governor Allen came to this prov- 
ince in 1698, and assumed the government, he ap- 
pointed Mr. Sheafe, Clerk of the Superior Court, 
one of his Majesty's Council, and Secretary of the 
province. But he held these offices only, during 
Allen's short administration. In 1711, Governor 
Dudley appointed him Commissary of the New- 
England forces, on an expedition against Quebec, 
under Admiral Walker, which failed in consequence 
of the disaster that befel the fleet in the river St. 
Lawrence. Mr. Sheafe exercised the office of Col- 
lector for the port of Piscataqua for several years. 
He afterwards brought his mercantile business to a 
close, and returned to Boston, where he died, ag- 
ed 76. 

1725. 

Lovewell marched again towards Winnipiseogee 
lake in search of the enemy. He came to the place 
where he had killed the Indian in his first expedi- 
tion^ and his provisions falling short; he dismissed 



148 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

thirty of his men by lot, forty remained with h5m. 
As they were ranging the woods they came to a 
track which led them to a party of Indians who 
had encamped for the night, near a pond in Wake- 
field. They kept at a distance till after midnight, 
when they cautiously advanced and found ten In- 
dians asleep round a fire, killed them all, and re- 
turned in triumph with their scalps ; for each of 
which, they received the promised bounty. Love- 
well soon afterwards set out on his third expedition, 
accompanied by forty-six men, with an intention of 
destroying the villages at Pigwacket. Before he 
reached the place of destination, he fell into an am- 
bush, in which he and most of his comrades were 
cut off. Those who escaped this severe destiny, 
returned home, having encountered the most in- 
credible hardships on the way. The Indians suffer- 
ed extremely in this engagement, which was sup- 
posed to be one of the most bloody they had ever 
experienced. Their leaders, and many of their 
best warriors, were killed, and the survivors chose 
to quit the field of battle, nor did they return to 
reside at Pigwacket as long as the war continued. 

The governments of Massachusetts and New- 
flampshire united in sending commissioners to re- 
monstrate with the Governor of Canada for his 
conduct in urging the Indians to war. The French 
and English were then at peace, and his conduct was 
a direct breach of the treaty. Theodore Atkinson 
was sent on the part of New-Hampshire, and when 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 149 

when the Governor denied his having encouraged 
the Indians to commit acts of hostility, or having 
offered them assistance, Atkinson produced his ori- 
ginal letters to Ralle, vi^hich put him to a nonplus. 
He promised to use his influence with the Indians 
to restore peace, and assisted in procuring the re- 
demption of the captives, who were detained pris- 
oners in Canada. The good effects of this embassy 
were soon visible. The Indians made overtures of 
peace, and a treaty for that purpose was concluded 
at Boston the last of December, in the usual form ; 
at the making of which, Lieutenant Governor Went- 
worth was present. 

1726. 

The inhabitants of that part of the town common- 
ly called Sandy Beach, having petitioned the Gene- 
ral Court to be made a separate town, at the annual 
meeting, the town voted, That the selectmen appear 
on the second day of the next sitting of the General 
Assembly, to answer to said petition. 

December 2d. Samuel Penhallow departed this 
life in the 62d year of his age. He was born at 
St. Mabon, in the county of Cornwall, in England, 
the 2d July, 1665. Being bred a puritan, he came 
to this country with the Rev. Charles Morton, who 
was silenced for nonconformity, in the year 1686. 
Mr. Penhallow's intention was to devote himself to 
the ministry ; but finding affairs in this country in a 



150 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

more unsettled state than he expected, he removed 
to this town and engaged in trade. He married a 
daughter of the late President John Cutt, and in 
her right inherited a large estate, to which, by his 
industry and success in business, he made great ad- 
ditions. He held many important offices in the 
government. He was distinguished as a magistrate, 
but executed the office with a great degree of sever- 
ity. He received a mandamus as one of his Majes- 
ty's Council, and took his seat accordingly. He was 
successively appointed Recorder of Deeds, a Judge 
of the Superior Court of Judicature, and afterwards 
Chief Justice of the same Court, and Treasurer of 
the province. Possessed of a strong mind, cultivat- 
ed by education, and influenced by principles of 
religion, he discharged the duties of these several 
offices with integrity. He wrote a narrative of the 
Indian wars, in which the sufferings of the inhabi- 
tants of early times are related with accuracy. As a 
professor of religion he was exemplary ; charitable 
to the poor, and hospitable to strangers. He was 
naturally of a warm and sanguine disposition ; his 
firmness had the appearance of obstinacy ; rigid in 
his principles, he was unwilling to make suitable 
allowances for those, who differed from him in sen- 
timent. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 151 

1727. 

Several persons, situated at or near the plains in 
this town, built a meeting-house on the rise of ground 
to the eastward of the training-field, in which they 
had had preaching regularly nearly two years. On 
the 4th of March the north parish ^^ voted to free 
and exonerate them from any tax or charge towards 
the support of the Gospel ministry, or any parish 
charge at the Bank for the future, provided they 
have frequent preaching more for accommodation 
than at the Bank." They afterwards petitioned the 
General Court to be made a separate parish, which 
was not granted. 

The town granted permission to build a bridge 
over the cove or dock, from Lieutenant Governor 
Wentworth's wharf to Captain Joseph Sherburne's 
wharf, leaving a passage for boats, canoes, and barks 
of twenty-five or thirty feet wide, provided the 
town be exempt from any charge of making or re- 
pairing said bridge. 

October 29th. About half past ten o'clock a ve- 
ry violent earthquake happened ; it was preceded 
by considerable noise, resembling distant thunder. 
Some persons perceived flashes of light at the mo- 
ment the trembling commenced. The sea was af- 
fected as well as the land, and roared in an unusual 
manner. Several slight shocks were felt during that 
night, and almost every day for nearly a fortnight 
afterwards. Some chimnies were cracked, and oth- 



152 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ers shattered. The pewter on the dressers rattled, 
and in some instances was thrown down. The 
brute creatures discovered evident tokens of fear, 
and ran about the fields in great distress. 

The representatives of the General Assembly, 
were chosen by virtue of a warrant from the Gov- 
ernor, to the sherifT of the province, directing him 
to issue his precepts to the selectmen of certain 
towns and districts therein enumerated, requiring 
them to cause the freeholders and other inhabitants 
of their respective tbwns and districts, duly qualifi- 
ed to vote for representatives, to assemble at such 
times and places, as they shall appoint, to elect and 
depute certain fit persons, in their respective towns or 
districts, to represent them in the General Assembly. 
The selectmen were to return their precepts to the 
sheriff with the names of the persons elected, from 
which the sheriff w^as to make a list of the repre- 
sentatives, and return the same, with the Governor's 
warrant to him, into the Secretary's office, previous 
to the day appointed for the meeting of the Assem- 
bly. They were elected for no definite time, but 
the Governor exercised the authority of dissolving 
them, whenever he thought proper. The Assem- 
bly, which had subsisted for five years, was dissolv- 
ed of course by the demise of the King. Upon the 
accession of George the second, writs were issued 
for the election of a new assembly, which met on 
the 15 th of December. A law was passed, which 
received the royal approbation, limiting the dura- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 153 

tion of the Assembly^ or House of Representatives, 
to three years, from the time appointed for them 
to meet. This law was very popular ; the long 
continuance of the Assembly was regarded as a 
grievance, because it deprived the people of the 
privilege of election. Some members of the Legis- 
lature protested against the law, as an abridgment 
of their rights. The act did not determine who 
should issue the writs for calling the new Assembly, 
nor to what places they should be directed ; but the 
Governor exercised the authority as he had former- 
ly done, which caused frequent altercations between 
him and the Assembly. 



1728. 

On the 22d day of January the house of Robert 
Metlin, situated on King's (now Congress) street, 
accidentally took fire and was entirely consumed, 
together with a great part of his stock of flour, and 
the clothing of himself and family. The great ex- 
ertions of the inhabitants prevented the fire from 
spreading. 

The dwelling house of Mr. George Walker, acci- 
dentally took fire, and was entirely consumed with 
all his furniture and clothing. 

William Burnet, son of the celebrated Bishop of 
Sarum, had lately been removed from the govern- 
ments of New- York and New- Jersey, to make way 
20 



134 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

for some favourite of the British ministry. He was 
appointed Governor of Massachusetts and New- 
Hampshire. His administration in New- York was 
popular, and his fame had preceded him to his 
new governments, so that the expectations of the 
people were raised in his favour. He was easy and 
polite in his address, and unaffected in his manners. 
He cultivated a taste for literature, and courted the 
company of men of science ; but all ostentation and 
parade were very irksome to him. On the 22d of 
July, Lieutenant Governor Wentworth and a com- 
mittee of the Council, waited upon him at Boston, 
to congratulate him on his appointment, and arrival 
in the governments under his command. 

Doctor Thomas Packer was one of the earliest 
surgeons of this town, who had been regularly 
bred to the profession. He was born in London, 
and educated a surgeon. He came to this coun- 
try a young man, resided a short time in Salem, 
and then removed to this town. There being no 
physician here at that time of much repute, he 
united the practice of physic with that of surgery, 
and attained some eminence in both. He held the 
offices of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Lieu- 
tenant Colonel in the militia, and Judge of Probate 
for the province for many years. As Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas, he was superseded in the 
year 1695, and from the other two offices, was dis- 
missed by the President and Council, the beginning 
of the year 1697, when the public sentiment was 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 155 

much divided by political disputes. He was ap- 
pointed a Counsellor in 1719, which office he held 
till his death. 



1729. 

On the 7th of September Governor Burnet visited 
this province. He was received with distinguished 
marks of affection and respect. His residence here 
was short, and he died at Boston a few months after 
his return. 



1730. 

Jonathan Belcher of Boston was appointed Govern- 
or of Massachusetts and New-Hampshire. He was a 
native of Boston, eminent as a merchant, and posses- 
sed of a large fortune. He was courteous to stran- 
gers, constant in his attachment to his friends, but 
severe to his opponents. His appointment was very 
acceptable to the people of both provinces. Lieu- 
tenant Governor Wentworth wrote a conaplimenta- 
ry letter to him, during his residence in England, 
whilst it remained uncertain whether he or his com- 
petitor, Shute, would be appointed. On his first 
visit to New-Hampshire he accepted an invitation 
from Wentworth and resided at his house. But 
after he had been informed that Wentworth had 
written a similar letter ta Shute, he highly resented 



156 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

it, accused him of duplicity, and on his next jour- 
ney to this place refused to visit him. Nor did 
his resentment stop here ; he limited Wentworth's 
compensation for his services, to the fees and per- 
quisites arising from registers, certificates, licences, 
and passes, amounting to about fifty pounds sterling 
a year. He even extended his displeasure to some 
of Wentworth's connexions, who were removed 
from office to make way for his own friends. 
Theodore Atkinson, who married the daughter 
of Lieutenant Governor Wentworth, was Collector 
of the Customs, Naval officer, and Sheriff of the 
province. Richard Wibird was appointed Collect- 
or, and Ellis Huske Naval officer in his stead, and 
Eleazer Russel was made joint Sheriff with him. 
Atkinson being a person of humour, turned this 
latter appointment into ridicule. The Governor 
had ordered a troop of horse to escort him to this 
town, and required the officers of government to 
join the cavalcade. When Atkinson appeared he 
had only half his wand, as his badge of office. The 
Governor reprimanded him for being late, and he 
apologized by saying he had only half a horse to ride. 
The Governor's conduct towards Wentworth irri- 
tated some of his friends, who formed a strong par- 
ty against him. Benning Wentworth, his oldest son, 
and Theodore Atkinson, were leaders of the oppo- 
sition. 

November 3d. The honourable Richard Wal- 
Uron departed this life in the 80th year of his age. 



■^" 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 157 

He was the son of Major Richard Waldron of Do- 
ver, and was bred a merchant under Lieutenant 
Governor Willoughby of Charlestown. After his re- 
turn to this province, he resided part of his time at 
Dover, and part at Portsmouth, and pursued the 
business of merchandize. He was early engaged in 
public life, and sustained many offices of honour and 
importance. His superior qualifications first intro- 
duced him to notice and his desire of being useful to 
society, induced him to accept the several appoint- 
ments which were offered him. He was a Counsel- 
lor, Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, Judge of 
Probate, a Justice of the Peace, and Colonel of the 
militia for many years together. He discharged the 
duties of these several offices with great ability, and 
undeviating rectitude. Amidst these worldly hon- 
ours and riches, he did not neglect the more impor- 
tant concerns of religion. He was circumspect in 
his christian conduct, and endeavoured to walk 
agreeable to the precepts of the gospel. He was 
buried without military honours, because he had 
frequently expressed his dislike to pomp and parade 
at funerals. 

Lieutenant Governor Wentworth did not long 
survive. He fell into a lethargy, and died on the 
12th of December in the fifty-ninth year of his age. 
He was born at Portsmouth, in the year 1671, of 
pious parents, who educated him in the principles 
of the Christian religion. His inclinations led him 
to a seafaring life^ and he soon obtained the com- 



158 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

maad of a ship. In this situation he was very ex- 
emplary in his conduct, and constantly maintained 
the worship of God in his ship, by morning and 
evening prayer. By careful attention to his busi- 
ness, he acquired a handsome fortune. His engag- 
ing manners procured him the affection and esteem 
of all who knew him. His public spirit induced 
him to take an interest in whatever would benefit 
bis native place. He was appointed one of the 
Council in 1712, and he adopted the same pruden- 
tial maxims in public life, which he had found so very 
beneficial in managing his private concerns. After 
the administration of the government devolved up- 
on him, his unwearied endeavours were to promote 
the welfare of the province. He had many diflicul- 
ties to encounter ; contending parties required great 
moderation to decide between them and reconcile 
their conflicting interests. The utmost prudence 
was necessary to direct an Indian war. In the 
discharge of his official duties, he gained the appro- 
bation of the inhabitants, and the affairs of the prov- 
ince flourished under his mild administration. He 
was constant in his attendance upon public worship, 
regular in his family devotions and in the observance 
of all the ordinances of the Christian religion. 

1731. 

j^ June 24th. David Dunbar, a native of Ireland, 
was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the province, 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 159 

and Surveyor General of the woods. He had been 
a Colonel in the British service, but upon the re- 
duction of the army, his regiment was disbanded. 
He was afterwards appointed Commander of the 
fort at Pemaquid, which he called Fort Frederick, 
and he assumed the government of the few inhabi- 
tants in that part of the province of Maine. Being 
used to military discipline, he exercised his author- 
ity there with rigour. The proprietors of the lands 
applied to Governor Belcher for redress, who issued 
his proclamation, requiring the inhabitants to sub- 
mit to the government of Massachusetts, Upon 
representation to the King in Council, Dunbar's 
authority was revoked. As an altercation had tak- 
en place between Belcher and Dunbar, his appoint- 
ment of Lieutenant Governor was peculiarly disa- 
greeable to Belcher, and the contention which had 
already commenced between them, increased as long 
as Dunbar continued in the country. Upon his ar- 
rival here, he joined the party in opposition to 
Belcher, and in their communications to the board 
of trade, each party endeavoured to procure the 
removal of the other. 

Dunbar was not allowed a seat in the Council : 
Shadrach Walton, the senior Counsellor, in tjie ab- 
sence of the Governor, presided at the board. 

Dunbar v/as Commander of the fort at Great-Isl- 
and ; he had authority to grant passes to outward 
bound vessels, and licences for marriages. From 
these several appointments he received about fifty 



teO ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

pounds sterling. His salary as Surveyor-General of 
the woods, was two hundred pounds sterling, and 
the perquisites nearly^«|^Iundred pounds, which 
were divided between hi^^|^Rs deputies. 

Theodore Atkinson, Bennin^i'Ventworth, and 
Joshua Pierce were appointed Counsellors ; but 
through Belcher's remonstrances, the two former 
were not admitted to a seat in the Council for near- 
ly two years. In the mean time they were chosen 
Representatives from this town, and in that House 
kept up their opposition. The Governor and his 
friends were desirous of having the province united 
with Massachusetts ; the other party exerted them- 
selves to have a separate Governor, who^ should re- 
side in the province. 

The Assembly determined to petition the King, 
to settle the line between this province and Massa- 
chusetts. The 7th of October, they made choice of 
Mr. John Rindge as their agent. He was a merchant 
of this town, and about to take passage for London 
on his mercantile business. Being opulent, he ad- 
vanced what money was necessary to prosecute their 
design. 

The south meeting-house was built on a lot of 
land presented to the parish by Captain John Pick- 
ering. After the frame was raised, Mr. Emerson 
made a prayer on a stage, erected within it for 
the purpose. This was the last of his public eX' 
ercises» 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 161 

The town gave permission to a number of persons 
to build a bridge over the cove, from Marshall's 
landing to Paul's, provided they would build and 
maintain the same at their own expense. This 
bridge had a hoist or draw in it for vessels to pass 
through, and was called Swing-bridge. 

1732. 

Mr. Rindge, on his arrival in England, petitioned 
the King, in behalf of the Representatives of New- 
Hampshire, to establish the boundaries of the prov- 
ince, which petition was referred to the board of 
trade. Mr. Rindge, having accomplished his pri- 
vate business, and being obliged to return home, 
left the care of the petition with John Thomlinson, 
a merchant of London, who was well known in this 
town, and he employed Ferdinando John Parry, as 
solicitor for the petitioners. 

The Rev. John Emerson died the 21st of June, 
in the sixty-second year of his age, and was buried 
in the Cotton burial-ground, south of the mill-dam» 
Mr. Emerson was born at Ipswich, and was gradu- 
ated at Harvard College in i 689. ^^ He crossed 
the Atlantic in 1708, spent some time in the city 
of London, and was handsomely noticed by Queen 
Anne." On the 24th of May, 1703, he was ordain- 
ed to the pastoral care of the church at New-Cas- 
tle ; but this connexion was dissolved in 1712. He 
was soon after invited to this town, and continued to 
21 



162 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

officiate in the old meeting-house south of the mill- 
dam, so long as he was able to preach. He deliver- 
ed an occasional sermon on the 29th of October, 
every year after the great earthquake, which hap- 
pened in 1727, to preserve the remembrance of 
that alarming event. ^* He is said to have been an 
agreeable companion, and a faithful preacher of the 
gospel." It is to be regretted that there were no 
more harmony and social intercourse between him 
and Mr. Rogers, during their ministerial labours 
in this town. 

This year a number of gentlemen, attached to 
the Episcopal church, and giving a decided prefer- 
ence to the ritual of the English liturgy, erected a 
building here for the purpose of conducting public 
worship, agreeable to that form. Mr. Thomlinson 
contributed largely himself, and procured persons in 
London to assist in completing it. The Queen pre- 
sented several folio prayer-books, and a service of 
plate for the use of the altar, consisting of two large 
flagons, a chalice, a paten, and a christening bason, 
stamped with the royal arms ; in honour of whom^ 
the building was called Queen's chapel. 

1733. 

The Rev. William Shurtliif was invited to settle 
in the south parish, as successor of Mr. Emerson, 
and was installed as pastor of that church the 21st 
of February. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 163 

1734. 

July 7th. The body of Abigail Dent, was found 
in an alder swamp, in a pasture belonging to George 
Jaffrey, Esq. situated on middle road, about a mile 
from the court-house, with evident marks of vio- 
Jence upon it. The Coroner's inquest states, <^ that 
she was murdered by being strangled by the menes 
of some ill disposed person or persons, by laying 
violent hands on her throat." The body was se- 
creted among the bushes, and was accidentally dis- 
covered after she had been missing a few days. 
Two sailors were suspected, as perpetrators of the 
deed, who were arrested and examined, but there 
was not sufficient evidence to convict them. 

William Pepperell, the father of the first Sir 
William, was a native of Cornwall, England. He 
emigrated to this country about the year 1676, and 
settled at the Isles -of- Shoals as a fisherman. It is 
said he was so poor, for some time after his arrival, 
that the lady, to whom he paid his addresses at the 
Shoals, would not hearken to him. However in a 
few years, by his industry and frugality, he acquir- 
ed enough to send out a brig, which he loaded to 
Hull. The lady now came forward, and gave her 
consent. After his marriage he removed to Kittery 
Point, where he became a very wealthy merchant. 
He died this year. 



164 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1735. 

A law had been passed, and was in operation sev- 
eral years, which required a session of the Inferior 
Court of Common Pleas, to be held in rotation in 
eacli of the four towns. This law was disapproved 
of by the King, and notice of his disapprobation was 
published here the 13th of June. From this time 
all the courts were held in this town. 

1736. 

An epidemic disorder, of a new class, hitherto 
unknown in the medical schools, made its appear- 
ance at Kingstown in May 1735. A young child 
was first seized with it, who died in three days. It 
spread rapidly through the country, and proved 
very mortal ; especially among children, who were 
more liable to its attack than older persons. It baf- 
fled the skill of the most experienced physicians. 
Many families were left entirely childless. It was 
not contagious like the small-pox, but from some 
unknown predisposing cause, would appear in sub- 
jects, at a distance from those who had been pre* 
vi Kisly attacked, attended with its wonted viru- 
lence. The throat was always affected, greatly 
swollen and inflamed, whence it was called the 
throat-distemper ; a general debility affected the 
whole system, which soon became putrid. The 
Rev. Mr. Fitch published a bill of mortality on the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 165 

26th of July, for fourteen months preceding ; by 
which it appears, that ninety-nine persons died 
within that time in this town, of whom, eighty-one 
were children under ten years of age. 

The Rev. Arthur Brown, a native of Drogheda 
in Ireland, was inducted Rector of the Episcopal 
church here. He was educated at Trinity College 
in Dublin, and received the degree of Master of 
Arts July 29th, 1729. He was ordained by the 
Bishop of London as a missionary to a society at 
Providence, Rhode-Island, to whom he steadily 
preached until his removal to this town. His sala- 
ry was one hundred pounds sterling. The society 
for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, 
allowed him sixty pounds a year, as missionary for 
Portsmouth, and fifteen pounds a year for Kittery, 
where there were a few Episcopalians, and the par- 
ish paid the remainder of his salary. 

1737. 

In the execution of the office of Surveyor-Gene- 
ral, Dunbar had excited a strong prejudice against 
him in the minds of the people. They regarded 
the trees which grew on their land, as their own 
property ; notwithstanding they were reserved for 
the use of the royal navy ; and they felled and con- 
veyed them to the mills. Dunbar seized the lum- 
ber, and in several instances, riots ensued, and the 
Surveyor was obliged to desist. 



166 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

It was a great object with those, who opposed 
Belcher's administration, to effect an entire separa- 
ration of the governments. They were desirous of 
having a governor, who would reside constantly 
among them ; and devote himself to the affairs of 
the province. They paid great attention to Dun- 
bar, whose situation was unpleasant ; and under the 
impression that he had influence enough at Court to 
obtain the office, his friends encouraged his embark- 
ing for England, to solicit the appointment. He 
accordingly took passage early in the spring. 

1738. 

The Counsellors of the province were generally 
appointed upon the recommendation of the Govern- 
or, and were commonly his particular friends. In 
some instances where they were not agreeable to 
him, he has suspended them until he could by rep- 
resentation to the ministry, procure their dismis- 
sion. When the suspended Counsellor had powerful 
friends at Court, he has sometimes been reinstated. 
The number of the Council was not limited, but de- 
pended wholly on the pleasure of the King. This 
year John Rindge, Esq. received the appointment. 
The mandamus to the Governor is as follows : 
George R. 

Trusty and Well beloved. We Greet you well. 
We being well satisfied of the Loyalty, Integrity, 
and Ability of Our Trusty and Well beloved John 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 167 

Rindge, Esq. have thought fit hereby to signify Our 
Will and Pleasure to you, that forthwith upon re- 
ceipt hereof, you swear and admit him, the said 
John Rindge to be of Our Council in Our Province 
of New-Hampshire, in the room of Benjamin Gam- 
lin, Esq. deceased. And for so doing, this shall 
be your warrant. And so We bid you Farewell. 
Given at Our Court at Kensington the Twenty Sec- 
ond Day of July, 1738, in the Twelfth Year of Our 
Reign. 

By His Majesty's Command. 

Hollis Newcastle. 

Which writ was directed. To our Trusty and 
Well beloved Jonathan Belcher, Esq. Our Captain 
General and Governor in Chief of Our Province of 
New-Hampshire in America, and in his absence, to 
Our Commander in Chief, or to the President of 
Our Council of Our said Province for the time being. 

The fees to be paid for a writ of mandamus, were 
about thirty guineas. 

1739. 

Whilst the contest respecting the boundary line 
between the provinces of New-Hampshire and Mas- 
sachusetts was in agitation. Governor Belcher used 
all his influence to prevent its being settled, and to 
counteract the intention of those, who were strenu- 
ous for it ; he proposed to have the two provinces 
united under one government. One method, which 



168 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

he took to effect the union, was to procure a peti- 
tion from the inhabitants of New- Hampshire to the 
King, praying that they might be annexed to Mas- 
sachusetts. This petition was privately circulated 
by the Governor's friends and adherents, and several 
persons were induced to sign it. But as soon as it 
was publickly known, ^^ a meeting of the freehold- 
ers and other inhabitants of the town of Portsmouth, 
legally notified, was held on the 23d day of July, 
and the following resolution and vote were passed* 
" Whereas it is reported that a petition or an ad- 
dress to his most excellent majesty hath lately been 
privately handed about many parts of this town, 
and some unwary persons without due consideration 
have been prevailed upon to sign the same, praying, 
as we have been informed, to be annexed to the 
Massachusetts'* government, or to be continued in 
the same situation as to Government we at present 
are, which seems calculated to frustrate his majes- 
ty's most gracious intentions of having the boundary 
lines settled and to obviate any other benefit this 
province may receive thereby, all which we appre- 
hend may be attended with very pernicious con- 
sequences to this province, if not timely prevented, 
the said petition having never been communicated 
to the town at any public meeting, but hath been 
obtained from the few that have signed it in a very 
private and unusual method — Therefore voted — : 
That this town in public meeting assembled do ut- 
terly disallow of and protest against the said petl-: 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 169 

tion, and against its being preferred to his majesty 
as the request and desire of this town — And also 
that this vote be recorded at length in the records 
of this town, and a fair copy thereof made by the 
Clerk, and that the same be sent to John Thomlin- 
son, Esq. agent for this province, who has the affairs 
of this government (now depending before his ma- 
jesty in council) under his care and arrangemenC, in 
order to the same being laid before his majesty, in 
case said petition or address should be preferred to 
his majesty, that thereby his majesty may be truly 
informed of the inclinations and desires of his most 
dutiful and loyal subjects, the inhabitants of this 
town." 

Great exertions were again made to remove Gov- 
ernor Belcher, and to have New-Hampshire erected 
into a separate government. The Duke of New- 
Castle objected to the former application, because 
it was made by persons of no reputation. 

This year many new petitions were drawn up 
and signed by the principal persons in the eastern 
country, and were transmitted to London ; one from 
this town was signed by Joseph Gulston, Richard 
Chapman, John Thomlinson, merchants, and Ben- 
ning Wentworth, one of his Majesty's Council, in 
behalf of themselves and sundry others in the prov- 
ince of New-Hampshire. They stated that they 
had many valuable ships, lying and building in the 
river Piscataqua, and that the province was in a 
most naked and defenceless situation. Their only 
22 



170 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

fort at the entrance of the river, was quite use- 
less and ruined ; their militia neglected and des- 
titute of proper arms, so that upon the least 
rupture with the French, all their effects and 
shipping, as well as the whole province, would be- 
come an easy prey to their French and Indian 
neighbours, which event would much distress his 
Majesty's service, by losing this useful province, 
from which the Royal Navy was chiefly supplied 
with masts. A gentleman from Portsmouth, who 
was in London when this petition was presented, 
confirmed the statements, saying that the fort was 
in a most ruinous condition, without powder, and 
although there were forty good cannon, yet no pains 
were taken to mount them ; that the militia had no 
arms, and were not exercised above once in two 
years, and then only a small part of those, who 
ought to bear arms. — These evils vi^ere represented 
to exist more on account of the government being 
connected with Massachusetts Bay, than of any 
neglect of Governor Belcher, who could not visit 
Portsmouth but once a year, owing to the distance 
from Boston to that place, as well as to the badness 
of the roads. — The petitions, which followed, were 
not so moderate in their statements ; they said, that 
the garrisons and forts in the eastern parts of New- 
England had been dismantled by Governor Belcher, 
that he had also denied his protection to his Majes- 
ty's Protestant subjects, and, that if a new Govern- 
or were not speedily sent over to New-England, the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 171 

poor people in the east will be cut off, and his 
Majesty lose the woodsj reserved for the use of the 
Royal Navy, to which Governor Belcher never was 
a. friend. 

With the petition of Wentworth and others, 
Thomlinson sent a short letter to the Duke of New- 
Castle's Secretary (Mr. Stone) saying, " the natives 
of Massachusetts, believe it their interest to prevent 
the settlement and growth of the province of New- 
Hampshire, and that the present Governor, hath 
done every thing in his power to that end ; there- 
fore what we should have proposed, would have 
been, to have his Majesty's province of New-Hamp- 
shire made a separate government." 

While these endeavours were making for Govern- 
or Belcher's removal, his friends were not less active 
in his behalf; and no individual more so than his 
Secretary, the Honorable Rich9,rd Waldron, who 
drew up a petition, in which he eloquently set forth 
the many services of Governor Belcher, that he had 
expended a large portion of his private fortune for 
the good of the province, and had suffered much 
from the persecution of his enemies. 

Richard Partridge, brother-in-law of the Govern- 
or, presented a memorial in behalf of many of his 
Majesty's subjects in New-Hampshire, with several 
addresses thereto annexed from the freeholders and 
inhabitants of said province, praying to be continu- 
ed under the present Governor, and also to be an- 
nexed to Massachusetts Bay, and praying in regard 



J172 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

to their poverty, that they may not be put to the 
charge of maintaining a Governor for this province 
only. 

December 27th. Sarah Simpson and Penelope 
Kenny were executed for the murder of an infant 
child. They were both permitted to attend public 
worship, the morning of the execution. Sarah 
Simpson attended at the south parish, where the 
Rev. Mr. ShurtlifF preached a sermon from Luke, 
23d chapter, 42d verse. Penelope Kenny, a for- 
eigner, at Queen's Chapel, where the Rev. Mr. 
Brown preached from Proverbs, 22d phapter, 6th 
verse. These sermons were published. The Court, 
who tried these persons were, Henry Sherburne, 
Chief Justice, Nicholas Oilman, Joseph Sherburne, 
and Ellis Huske, Justices. Thomas Packer was the 
Sheriff who executed these sentences. These were 
the first executions, which ever took plaqe in New- 
Hampshi;"c, 

1740. 

The north parish gave permission to any person, 
or number of persons, disposed to procure a clock 
at their own cost, to set it up in the steeple of their 
meeting-house, so that the hammer of said clock 
might strike on the bell ; and the proprietors of 
said clock, also had liberty to remove it at their 
pleasure. The parish likewise appointed a com- 
mittee to treat with a committee of the south parish 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 173 

to reconcile existing differences between said par- 
ishes. 



1741. 

The party in opposition to Governor Belcher, by 
their industry and perseverance, effected his re- 
moval. Thomlinson was indefatigable in all his 
undertakings ; and he had penetration to discover 
every thing, which would favour the cause of his 
employers. Belcher's conduct was examined very 
minutely, and, whatever could be construed to his 
disadvantage, was urged against him, with great 
address. His situation was critical ; at the head 
of two governments, whose interests were continual- 
ly at variance, he was certain of being condemned 
by one or the other, and in some instances, his in- 
tentions were misrepresented. He was very open in 
censuring his opponents, and often treated them with 
contempt and abuse, especially in his letters to his 
friends. William Shirley succeeded him, as Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, and Benning Wentworth, 
his most warm antagonist, as Governor of New- 
Hampshire. Belcher was afterwards appointed 
Governor of New-Jersey, where he spent the re- 
mainder of his days in tranquility. 

Governor Wentworth had been engaged in trade, 
and became eminent as a merchant. He con- 
tracted with an agent of the Spanish government 
to supply them with a large quantity of the best oak 



174 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

timber, to the amount of 50 or 60,000 dollars, and 
he borrowed the money in London to enable him to 
fulfil the contract. The timber was delivered, but 
the Spanish Court refused payment. On his home- 
ward voyage his ship foundered, and he with his 
crew, saved their lives by taking to the boat. Af- 
ter another ineffectual attempt to obtain payment 
from Spain, he represented his case to the British 
Court, and solicited their aid to obtain redress. 
Negociations were commenced, but did not succeed : 
the war between the two nations, destroyed his 
expectations of receiving his pay. Mr. Wentworth 
then, through the assistance of his friend Mr. 
Thomlinson, applied for the government of New- 
Hampshire, which was granted him. Having re- 
ceived his commission, he embarked for this country, 
and landed at Boston, and from thence proceeded to 
this town. He arrived here the 12th of December, 
amidst the acclamations of a large concourse of peo- 
ple, who had assembled to welcome his return. 

1742. 

The General Assembly granted a salary to Gov- 
ernor Wentworth, of two hundred and fifty pounds 
to be paid out of the money arising from the im- 
post : and having issued twenty-five thousand pounds 
in bills, on a loan for ten years, they granted him twe 
hundred and fifty pounds more, out of the money, 
accruing from the interest of that loan, and made 
him annual grants for his house-rent. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 175 

1743. 

Dunbar had retained his office of Surveyor of the 
woods till this time ; but Thomlinson, desirous of 
obtaining the office for Governor Wentworth, pre- 
vailed upon him to resign, upon paying him two 
thousand pounds sterling. He then applied to gov- 
ernment, and procured the appointment for Went- 
worth. The salary was eight hundred pounds 
sterling ; out of which, he was to support four 
deputies. He was obliged to relinquish his claim 
upon the Spanish Court. 

1744. 

The ship of war, the Astrea, accidentally took fire 
on the 17th day of January, and was entirely con- 
sumed. The Astrea was a twenty -gun ship, which 
had been taken from the Spaniards at Porto Belle 
the present war, was riding at anchor in the Pool, and 
taking in a cargo of naval stores, destined for the use 
of the British fleet at Jamaica. The morning when 
the accident took place, was severely cold, and her 
distance from the town, rendered it impossible for 
assistance to reach her in season. The Pool is a 
broad sheet of deep still water, situated between 
the upper end of Great-Island, and the town on 
the southerly side of the river, with good anchor- 
ing ground. The largest ships can lie there in 
safety, and the mast ships were usually stationed 
there, to take in their cargoes. 



176 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

France joined with Spain in the war against Great 
Britain ; and their colonies were consequently in- 
volved in it. The French took the Island of Can- 
seau from the British, destroyed their fishery, burn- 
ed their houses, and made prisoners .of the garrison 
and inhabitants. The Indians assisted them in this 
attack. As soon as the news reached Boston, the 
government of Massachusetts declared war against 
the Indians, and offered a bounty for prisoners and 
scalps. The prisoners taken at Canseau, were in 
the first place, carried to Louisburg, and afterwards 
sent to Boston. Governor Shirley obtained such 
information from them, respecting the «tate of the 
garrison there, and their means of defence, that he 
formed the idea of taking it from the French. 
Shirley communicated his project to \\ entworth, 
which met with his hearty concurrence. He rep- 
resented to the British ministry, the great impor- 
tance of the Island of Cape Breton, the danger of 
an attack on Nova Scotia, if the French retained 
possession of it, and the possibility of arresting it 
from them." He requested that a naval force might 
be sent to guard their coast, and protect their trade 
and fishery ; and Commodore Warren was OT'dered 
to proceed to the northward with sufiicient force to 
answer this purpose. He and Governor Wentworth 
were to consult with each other as to the plan of 
operation. 

William Vaughan, a son of Lieutenant Governor 
Vaughan, claimed the merit of first suggesting this 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 177 

attack upon Cape Breton. He engaged warmly in 
the undertaking, and being of a bold intrepid dis- 
position, was not easily discouraged by any unfavor- 
able circumstances, that intervened. He proposed 
to Governor Shirley to take the place by surprise, 
which met with Shirley's approbation, and he ex- 
erted himself to forward the expedition. 

1745. 

A new Assembly was summoned to meet on the 
24th of January, and precepts were issued to five 
towns, which had never sent representatives before. 
Nathaniel Rogers, Eleazer Russell, and Henry Sher- 
burne, jr. represented this town. Sherburne was 
chosen Clerk of the House, and Rogers, Speaker, 
but the representatives from the five towns, were 
not allowed to vote. The Governor declined ap- 
proving or disapproving of the speaker, until he 
was informed what right the House had, to prohibit 
any members, called in by the King's Writ, from 
voting. The House determined that no towns (not 
before privileged) ought to have a writ sent to them 
without a vote of the House, or act of the General 
Assembly. An altercation took place between the 
Governor and House on the subject, which continu- 
ed nearly a week, But the Governor at last in- 
formed the House that, " in the present situation 
of affairs in respect to the war, he thinks it for his 
Majesty's immediate service not to enter further 
23 



178 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

into the dispute, and therefore submits it till his 
Majesty's pleasure shall be known, and that no fur- 
ther delay in the public affairs may happen, he ap- 
proves of the choice of Nathaniel Rogers, Esq. for 
their Speaker." 

Governor Shirley submitted his scheme for cap- 
turing Cape Breton to the General Court of Massa- 
chusetts for their approbation. It was not favorably 
received at first, but was finally adopted in the 
House of Representatives by a majority of a single 
vote. He wrote to the Governors of the several 
provinces as far as Pennsylvania, informing them 
of his intention, and requesting their assistance. 
Vaughan came express to this town the 1st of Feb- 
ruary, with letters to Governor Wentworth, who 
communicated them to the General Assembly then 
in session. They immediately acceded to the prop- 
osition, recommended raising two hundred and fifty 
men, and that military stores and transports should 
be in readiness by the 1st of March. They passed 
an act for the emission of 13,000/. in bills, to defray 
their proportion of the expense, attencling the ex- 
pedition, to which the Governor, by advice of Shir- 
ley, contrary to his instructions, gave his consent. 
The troops furnished by this province, were enlisted 
before the last of February, amounting to upwards 
of three hundred. They were divided into eight 
companies, and formed a regiment, which was com- 
manded by Colonel Samuel Moore ; Nathaniel Me- 
serve was Lieutenant Colonel, and Mr. Samuel 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 179 

Langdon, who kept the grammar-school here, and 
preached occasionally, went as Chaplain to the reg- 
iment. Transports were provided for the troops, 
and an armed sloop, with a crew of thirty men, 
commanded by Captain John Fernald, served as a 
convoy to the transports, and as a cruiser. William 
Pepperell of Kittery was appointed Commander in 
Chief of the expedition. He was " a merchant of 
unblemished reputation and engaging manners, ex- 
tensively known in Massachusetts and New-Hamp- 
shire, and very popular ;" but totally unacquainted 
with the art of war. The New-Hampshire forces 
were placed under his command, by Governor 
Wentworth. Canseau was appointed as the place 
of rendezvous, and the troops met there the last of 
March. Commodore Warren, with the squadron 
under his command, arrived the 23d of April, and, 
after consulting with the General, proceeded to sea 
and cruised before Louisburg, to intercept any of 
the enemy's vessels, bound there with supplies. 
The French had no suspicion of the intended in- 
vasion, until they saw the British ships in the bay, 
and were quite unprepared for such an event. Cap- 
tain Fernald, in the New- Hampshire sloop, captured 
a ship from Martinico and retook one of the trans- 
ports, which had been taken by the French the 
preceding day. 

Pepperell landed his troops at Chapeaurouge on 
the 29th of March. Vaughan had the rank and 
pay of a Lieutenant Colonel, but was attached to na 



180 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

regiment. He conducted the first division of the 
troops through the woods, till they came in view of 
the city. On the 1st of May, he led a small party 
of thirteen men to the harbour, and burned the 
buildings, which contained the naval stores of the 
enemy, and destroyed a large quantity of wine and 
brandy. The troops in the grand battery, were so 
much alarmed by this fire, that they abandoned it^ 
and fled to the city. When Vaughan and his men 
returned the next morning, he observed that the 
colours were taken from the flag-staff, and that no 
smoke issued from the chimnies of the barracks,, 
whence he concluded that the battery was forsaken. 
He hired an Indian to climb into the fort through one 
of the embrasures, and open the gate. He found it 
deserted as he expected, and immediately gave no- 
tice to the General, and requested a reinforcement. 
The French sent a hundred men in boats to retake 
the battery ; but Vaughan with his valiant party 
on the open beach, exposed to the fire of the ene- 
my from the city and boats, prevented their landing 
until the arrival of the detachment, sent by the 
General, and with their assistance he kept possession 
of the battery. The French ship, the Vigilante, 
of sixty-four guns, richly laden with naval stores, 
was captured by Warren's squadron. She had been 
long expected, and when the news of her being 
taken, was communicated to the French commander, 
it produced evident marks of depression. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. ISl 

The Governor, observing the preparations which 
were making for a general assault, thought it best to 
capitulate, and on the I7th of June, he surrendered 
the city to the besieging army. The news of this 
important victory was received throughout the 
British provinces in America with every demon- 
stration of joy, and in Europe with great surprise. 
Pepperell and Warren were created Baronets : 
Warren was advanced to the rank of Admiral ; 
Pepperell and Shirley received commissions as Co- 
lonels in the British army. Parliament reimbursed 
to the colonies the expenses of the expedition. 
New- Hampshire received sixteen thousand, three 
hundred, and fifty-five pounds sterling. 

The north parish on the 6th of November invit- 
ed Mr. Samuel Langdon, who had returned from 
the expedition to Louisburg, to assi.,t Mr. Fitch. 
They gave him permission to continue his school, as 
long as Mr. Fitch was able to preach, after which 
they agreed that Mr. Langdon should become his 
successor. 

The house of Richard Waldron, Esq. at the 
plains, accidentally took fire and was consumed, 
together with most of the records of the Probate 
Court, and many other public papers. 

Doctor Nathaniel Rogers, the son of the Rev. 
Nathaniel Rogers of this town, was born in the 
year 1700, and was graduated at Harvard College 
1717. He studied the theory of physic and surge- 
ry with Doctor Bailey of Ipswich, commenced the 



182 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

practice here and followed it several years with 
some success. He died in the month of Novem- 
ber, aged 45. 

1746. 

John Tufton Mason, who inherited the title to 
New-Hampshire, had suffered a common recovery 
in the Courts of this province to dock the entail 
on that estate. He had offered it to the General 
Assembly, but could obtain no definite answer from 
them. On the 30th of January, he sold it for fif- 
teen hundred pounds in fifteen shares to twelve 
purchasers, namely, Theodore Atkinson, Mark 
Hunking Wentworth, Richard Wibird, John Went- 
worth, George Jaffrey, Samuel Moore, Nathaniel 
Meserve, Thomas Packer, Thomas Wallingford, 
Jotham Odiorne, Joshua Pierce, and John Moffat, 
all of whom were inhabitants of this town, except 
Wallingford. Atkinson held three fifteenths, M. 
H. Wentworth, two, and all the others one fifteenth 
each. They immediately executed a deed, by 
which they released to all the towns, which had 
been previously settled or granted, the lands within 
their respective boundaries, excepting what they 
had heretofore held in such towns. Portsmouth 
was included in this grant, so that Mason's claim to 
any lands in this town became extinct. 

The unexpected success, which attended the ex- 
pedition against Louisburg, encouraged the British 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 183 

ministry to make further attempts on the French 
colonies. Shirley had represented the dangers to 
which the English settlements would be subjected 
as long as the French held Canada ; and at his 
solicitation;, preparations were made for invading it. 
New-Hampshire raised eight hundred men, who 
were commanded by Colonel Theodore Atkinson. 
This regiment, with the other New-England troops, 
was to join the British at Louisburg. Transports 
and provisions were ready the beginning of July, 
but they expected orders from England, which did 
not arrive, and the summer was wasted in inactivity. 
The French equipped a numerous fleet, com- 
manded by the Duke D'Anville, on board of which 
were embarked a large body of land forces, destined 
not only to defend their own colonies, but to molest 
and destroy those of the English. Reports were 
circulated about the last of September, that this 
fleet had arrived at Nova Scotia ; which excited 
great apprehensions of danger, in this and the 
neighbouring provinces. Instead of invading the 
territories of their enemies, their whole attention 
was engrossed in providing for their own defence. 
Colonel Atkinson's regiment was employed in re- 
pairing fort William and Mary at New-Castle, and 
they erected a new battery of nine thirty pounders 
at Jerry's point at the entrance of Little-Harbour. 
The province was kept in a state of fearful expecta- 
tion for six weeks, when news arrived that the fleet 
had been dispersed by a storm, in which many of 



184 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the vessels were lost, and those, that escaped ship- 
wreck had returned to France. 

The Rev. Jabez Fitch died of a nervous fever on 
the 22d day of November, in the 75th year of his 
age, and in the 22d of his ministry in this place. 
He was distinguished for his literary acquirements, 
and cultivated with assiduity his taste for historical 
researches. He published four sermons after his 
settlement here. The first was delivered to his 
own parish the Sunday after the great earthquake, 
which happened October 29th, 1727. The second 
he preached at the ordination of the Rev. John 
Tucke, who was settled at the Isles-of- Shoals, July 
26, 1732, from these words, " I will make you fish- 
ers of men." The other two were occasioned by 
the epidemic disorder, which proved so fatal in the 
year 1735, commonly called the throat-distemper. 
He took pains to collect many historical facts, which 
he did not publish, but the historian of this prov- 
ince, reaped the fruits of his labours by examining 
his manuscripts. 

1747. 

As soon as the alarm occasioned by the expecta- 
tion of the French fleet had subsided, Colonel At- 
kinson's regiment marched to Winnipiseogee lake, 
and encamped near its borders for the purpose of 
defending the frontiers from the incursions of the 
Indians. They remained there through the winter. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 185 

very inactive, except in pursuing their amusements ; 
without subordination or discipline, and undisturb- 
ed by the enemy, whilst other parts of the country, 
were suffering by their ravages. 

The Rev. Samuel Langdon was ordained on the 
4th of February, to the pastoral care of the north 
church and parish. 

The Rev. William Shurtliff died the 9th of May, 
and ^^ his remains were deposited under the commu- 
nion-table of his church. No stone has ever been 
erected to his memory. His name however will 
long be mentioned with respect for his uncommon 
meekness and patience under great trials, and for 
distinguished piety, as well as pastoral fidelity." 
He was born at Plymouth in Massachusetts, and 
was graduated at Harvard College, in 1707. He 
published five sermons, and an account of the revi- 
val of religion in Portsmouth, about the year 1742, 
which was printed in the 22d and 48th numbers 
of the Christian history for 1743. 

1748. 

Doctor Joseph Peirce, the son of Joshua Peirce, 
was a native of Portsmouth. He studied the theory 
of physic and surgery with Doctor Packer, and 
established himself in this town. After a successful 
course of practice for a number of years, he was 
seized with the small-pox, of which disorder he 
died in the month of January of this year. 
24 



1S6 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

The people at and near the plains united cordial- 
ly in the settlement of Mr. Langdon, and the meet- 
ing-house, which had been erected there, was taken 
down. 

Peace was established between the belligerant 
powers, by the treaty made at Aix la Chapelle, in 
which it was stipulated that all things should be 
restored to the state they were in before the war. 
In consequence of this article, the island of Cape 
Breton, was again put into the hands of the French. 
This was a mortifying circumstance to the New- 
England provinces, who had made so great exertions 
only three years before, to wrest it from the enemy. 
The troops left to guard Louisburg, were permitted 
to return home ; among whom were several respec- 
table officers belonging to this town. 

1749. 

The honourable George Jaffrey was born at Great- 
Island, and received a public education at Harvard 
College, where he was graduated in 1702. He re- 
moved to this tow^n and engaged in trade ; he was 
appointed Counsellor in 1716, and Treasurer of the 
province after the death of Mr. Penhallow in 1726. 
He was appointed Chief Justice of the Superior 
Court of Judicature ; and he retained that office as 
well as that of Counsellor until his death, which 
took place the beginning of the present year. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 187 

Daniel Peirce, Esq. and several other gentlemen, 
purchased a clock by subscription, which they pre- 
sented to the town the 25th of March, and which 
was accepted by the town, and placed in the steeple 
of the north meeting-house. 

The constant communication with foreign places 
by sea, kept the town continually exposed to the 
small-pox. To prevent its spreading, they had 
occasionally hired houses, situated at a distance from 
the compact part of the town, to which persons 
infected with this contagious disorder were remov- 
ed. This year they purchased a small island in the 
river, just below the town, on which they built a 
house, with suitable accommodations for a hospital. 
A family resides in the house to attend upon the sick 
that are brought there. It is called the pest-house. 

The south parish had been supplied with occa- 
sional preachers, since the death of Mr. Shurtliff. 
Having heard an excellent character of Mr. Strong 
of Northampton, they sent Matthew Livermore and 
Henry Sherburne, Esquires, to invite him to visit 
them. He had intended to devote himself to the 
labours of a missionary among the Indians ; and 
commenced a journey into the wilderness for that 
purpose, but was taken sick before he reached the 
place of his destination, and was obliged to return. 
He accompanied the committee to this town, and 
the parish soon gave him an invitation to settle with 
them, which he at first declined ; on account of his 
intention of spending his life in preaching to the 



188 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Indians. His health was so impaired, that the 
commissioners at Boston thought it not best for him 
to undertake that laborious office. The parish re- 
newed their invitation, which he accepted, and was 
ordained the 28th of June. 

The dispute between the Governor and Assembly 
respecting the right of sending writs to new towns 
for the choice of Representatives, had subsided dur- 
ing the war, but as soon as peace was established, 
the Governor received instructions from the British 
Court to dissolve the Assembly, and to call a new 
one ; that writs should be sent to those towns, 
whose representatives had been excluded, and that 
the Governor should protect the rights of the per- 
sons chosen. 

The Assembly met the beginning of January, 
Their first act was to exclude the members from 
the new towns. They then chose Richard Waldron 
Speaker. The Governor negatived him, and ordered 
the House to admit the new members, and to choose 
another Speaker. Neither party was disposed to 
recede. The Assembly was kept under short ad- 
journments. No business could be transacted, nor 
could any papers be obtained from the Recorder's 
office. The Recorder was chosen for three years, 
his time had expired, and a new choice could not 
be made, until the Assembly was organized. This 
suspension of business produced great clamour with 
the people. Many influential men in the province, 
attributed the existing difficulties to the Governor. 



ANNALS OP PORTSMOUTH. 189 

They petitioned the King for his removal, and that 
Sir William Pepperell might be appointed in his 
stead. At the same time they addressed a letter to 
Sir William, who was about to embark for Europe 
on his private business, requesting him to accept 
the office, and to use the great influence he had at 
Court, to obtain it. The petition was sent to an 
agent in London, who advised them not to present 
it, for as the Governor had followed his instructions, 
there was no probability that the King would cen- 
sure his conduct. 

This year a ship of war, called the America, 
pierced for fifty guns, was built at the north end of 
the town, for the British government, under the 
superintendence of Colonel Nathaniel Meserve. 

1750. 

A number of gentlemen associated, for the pur- 
pose of establishing a social library, upon the prin- 
ciples of a tontine. They made a small collection 
of books, some of which they imported from Lon- 
don, consisting principally of divinity and history. 
This year they set up a lottery for the purpose of 
aiding their funds, but it is uncertain whether it 
Was sanctioned by law or not. 



190 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1751. 

The selectmen were authorized and empowered 
to purchase one hundred and twenty-five tickets in 
the social library lottery, and to appropriate the 
money, raised by the same, towards building and 
supporting a work-house. 

The Rev. Job Strong died after a short but pain- 
ful illness, on Monday the 30th of September, and 
was buried under his meeting-house, aged 27 years. 

1752. 

The contention between the Governor and the 
Assembly continued through the term for which the 
Assembly was elected. The new members were 
not allowed to take their seats, and the Governor 
did not approve of the Speaker ; no public business 
was transacted. The Recorder's office was closed ; 
the people were clamorous against the Governor as 
the source of all their troubles, but he remained 
firm and inflexible. — Neither party was disposed to 
accommodate the other. The Assembly was dissolv- 
ed of course, at the expiration of the term, and a 
new one was summoned, which met on the second 
day of January. The members from the new towns 
were admitted to their seats. Meshech Weare was 
elected Speaker, who was very acceptable to the 
Governor, and approved of by him. A Recorder 
was appointed, and the business of the session pro- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 191 

ceeded without interruption. The opposition to 
the Governor gradually declined, and harmony was 
restored among the members of government. 

The Rev. Samuel Haven was ordained over the 
soutli church and parish the 6th of May. 

1758. 

Richard Waldron was the son of Colonel Richard 
Waldron, and grandson of Major Richard Waldron, 
who was killed by the Indians at Dover in 1689. 
On his maternal line, he was the grandson of Major 
William Vaughan ; so that he was descended from 
two of the earliest and most respectable inhabitants 
of New-Hampshire. He was born in February, 
1694, received his education at Harvard College, 
and was admitted to the degree of Bachelor of 
Arts in 1712. He fixed his residence at first on 
his paternal estate at Dover, but removed afterwards 
to this town and lived at the plains. In 1728 he 
was appointed a Counsellor, and a few years after- 
wards Secretary of the province. In 1737, Gov- 
ernor Belcher appointed him Judge of Probate. 
He retained these offices as long as Governor Bel- 
cher presided over the province ; but soon after 
Governor Wentworth commenced his administration, 
he suspended Mr. Waldron as Counsellor, removed 
him from office, and appointed Colonel Atkinson 
Secretary, and Andrew Wiggin Judge of Probate. 
He remained a private citizen, until the beginning 



192 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

of the year 1749, when he was solicited by his 
friends in town to be a candidate to the General 
Court, which was to meet in January ; but he abso- 
lutely refused. In the mean time, the town of 
Hampton elected him their representative, without 
giving him any previous intimation of their design ; 
they notified him of their choice by a Constable, and 
after some consultation he accepted the appointment. 
In a letter to Governor Belcher, stating these cir- 
cumstances, he says, " Thus, Sir, I have once more 
stepped on the public stage, to act my part in the 
present scene durante bene placito PopuliP 

When the Assembly met, he was unanimously 
elected Speaker ; the Governor negatived the 
choice, but the Assembly adhered to their vote. 
Matters remained in this situation for three years, 
the term for which the Assembly were elected, and 
they were then dissolved of course. 

This was the last of Mr. Waldron's appearance 
in public life ; he died the present year, aged 59. 
Mr. VValdron was a person of distinguished talents 
and literary acquirements. A strong friendship 
existed between him and Governor Belcher, which 
continued through life. He took an active and de- 
cided part with Belcher against his opponents, and 
was serviceable in procuring testimony in his fa- 
vour, when complaints were made against him to 
the Lords of Trade. 

Mr. Waldron was a professor of religion, and 
zealously attached to the church, of which he was 
a respectable member. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 193 



1754. 



Two Indians, one named Sabatis, and the othei? 
Plausawa, belonging to the St. Francois tribe, were 
killed by some persons in the woods, near Contoo- 
cook. Suspicions fell on Anthony Bowcn and John 
Morrill. They were apprehended^ indicted, and 
arraigned, and were committed to the gaol in this 
town for trial. Previous to the time appointed, a 
number of persons in disguise, armed with axes and 
iron bars, came in the night, broke open the prison, 
and carried off the prisoners, who were never re- 
taken ; nor were the rioters discovered, notwith- 
standing a reward was offered by the Governor for 
the purpose. 

June 19th. A Congress was held at Albany,' 
composed of delegates from the several provinces as 
far south as Maryland. Theodore Atkinson, Rich- 
ard Wibird, Henry Sherburne, and Nathaniel 
Weare were delegates from New- Hampshire. The 
three first belonged to this town. Oae design of 
the meeting was to hold a conference with the six 
nations on the subject of the French encroachments. 
Large presents were made them to detach them 
from the French. At this Congress a plan of union 
was agreed on, but not accepted, either by the 
British ministry or the colonial governments. 

In the month of August, the Indians began their 
depredations on some of the frontier towns. 



25 



194 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1755. 

May 8th. Eliphaz Dow, of Hamptonfalls, was 
executed for the murder of Peter Clough of the 
same place. It appeared upon evidence, that a 
quarrel had subsisted between them for a long time. 
On the 12th day of December, 1754, they acci- 
dentally met at the house of Noah Dow, where 
some high words and threats passed between them. 
Clough challenged Dow to go out of the house to 
fight, and went out himself ; Dow followed, and as 
he went out, took up his brother's hoe, which stood 
in the entry, and with it struck Clough a blow on 
the side of the head, which instantly killed him. 
Dow was arrested and examined before the honour- 
able Meshech Weare, and committed to prison in 
this town. At the February term of the Superior 
Court, he was indicted, tried, and convicted : and 
sentence was pronounced upon him, that he should 
be hanged by the neck until he should be dead. 
The Sheriff was commanded by a warrant from the 
Court to execute this sentence on the 20th day of 
March following, but in consequence of two reprieves 
from the Governor, the execution of the sentence 
was respited until this day. The gallows was erect- 
ed on the south road near the pound, opposite 
where the house of Samuel Tucker, jr. now stands ; 
and between the hours of twelve at noon and three 
in the afternoon, Dow was hanged, and his body was 
buried in the road a few rods from the gallows; just 
on the declivity of the hill. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 195 

Matthew Livermore, Esquire, was the Attorney- 
General, who managed the prosecution, and Thomas 
Packer, Esq, the Sheriff, who caused the sentence 
to be executed. 

A hay-market, with convenient scales for weigh- 
ing, was erected at the lower end of Islington- road, 
and near middle road. 

A building was erected on the glebe lot in Jaf- 
frey-street, for a work-house and alms-house. 

The war, which was at first commenced by the 
incursions of the savages, and skirmishes with them, 
became general through the country between the 
French and English ; and on the part of the English 
it proved very unfortunate. The frontiers of New- 
Hampshire were entirely exposed to the Indians, 
who kept them in continual alarm. 

The most severe and tremendous earthquake, 
which was ever felt in this country, took place on 
the night of the 18th of November, after midnight. 
The weather was remarkably serene, the sky clear, 
the moon shone bright, and a solemn stillness per- 
vaded all nature, at the time it commenced. The 
tremulous motion of the earth was so great, as to 
throw down the pewter from the dressers. Some 
chimnies were cracked, and others thrown down. 
The sea and river were in great agitation, and the 
shock was so severely felt on board vessels in the har- 
bour, that those persons who were on board, thought 
they had struck on the rocks ; many persons who 
were suddenly awakened from sleep, were greatly 



196 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

affrighted, and thought the dissolution of the world 
approaching. Shocks were felt almost every day 
afterwards, for nearly a fortnight. 

This month was remarkable for the earthquakes, 
which took place in various parts of Europe, Africa, 
and America. It was most terrible in Portugal. 
St. Ubes was swallowed up in the sea ; Lisbon was 
almost destroyed ; several towns in Spain were great- 
ly injured ; some places on the coast of Barbary 
were ruined, and. in the northern provinces of 
America, shocks were felt very extensively ; but 
many days later than they were in Europe, and the 
waters of the western lakes were greatly agitated 
by them. 

175G. 

March 25th. The town directed the selectmea 
to purchase a fire-engine at the charge of the town, 
the price not to exceed forty pounds sterling. 

After the death of General Braddock, the com- 
mand devolved upon Governor Shirley. He proposed 
an expedition against Crown-Point, and called on the 
several provincial governments for assistance. New- 
Hampshire raised a regiment, and gave the command 
of it to Colonel Nathaniel Meserve. He joined the 
army with his regiment, and was stationed at Fort 
Edward, which was committed to his care. The 
Earl of Loudon arrived in July, and superseded 
phirl^y as Commander in Chief. The conduct of 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 197 

Colonel Meserve in the defence of the fort under 
his command, met the approbation of the Earl ; and 
the activity of the New-Hampshire troops, and 
their patience under fatigue, attracted his attention. 
At his express desire, three companies of rangers 
were selected from them, and placed under the com- 
mand of Robert Rogers, John Stark, and William 
Stark. 

October 7th. The first newspaper, published in 
New-Hampshire, was printed in this town by Dan- 
iel Fowle ; entitled the New-Hampshire Gazette^ 
and Historical Chronicle. 

1757. 

The time for which the troops had enlisted, hav- 
ing expired, another regiment was raised in this 
province, and put under the command of Colonel 
Meserve. He, with the three companies of ran- 
gers, and one hundred carpenters, accompanied 
Lord Loudon to Halifax. The remainder of the 
regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Goffe, joined 
the array at Albany under General Webb. They 
were stationed at fort William Henry, which soon 
after surrendered to the French. Eighty out of 
two hundred of the New-Hampshire regiment, were 
murdered by the Indians, as they marched out of the 
fort unarmed, after they had capitulated. 



198 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1758. 

This year New-Hampshire raised eight hundred 
men, and gave the command of them to Colonel 
John Hart, who marched with them to Lake George 
to join General Abercrombie. Admiral Boscaweu 
arrived at Halifax early in the spring, with a large 
fleet j on board of which were twelve thousand 
British troops, commanded by General Amherst. 
Their first object was the recapture of Louisburg ; 
in which they succeeded. Colonel Meserve was at 
the seige of that place in 1745, and rendered essen- 
tial service by constructing sledges, on which the 
cannon were drawn, through a deep morass. He 
embarked again with one hundred and eight car- 
penters, to assist at the siege the second time. 
Soon after his arrival, his whole party, except six- 
teen, were seized with small-pox ; of which disor- 
der, he and his oldest son died. Colonel Meserve 
was a gentleman of a fine mechanical genius. Being 
a shipwright by profession, he attained to eminence 
in his business, and acquired a handsome fortune. 
His moral and social character was unblemished, and 
as an oflicer he was greatly respected. The Earl of 
Loudon had a high sense of his merit and military 
talentsu He presented him with an elegant silver 
bowl, on which was inscribed ^< From the Right 
honourable the Earl of Loudon, Commander in Chief 
of his Majesty's forces in North America, to Colonel 
Nathaniel Meserve, of New-Hampshire, in testimo- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 199 

ny of his Lordship's approbation of his good ser- 
vices at Fort Edward in 1756." 

The General Assembly passed a resolve for build- 
ing a State-House in this town, and appointed Dan- 
iel Warner, Henry Sherburne, and Clement March, 
a committee to carry the same into execution. It is 
built of wood, about eighty feet long, thirty wide, 
and twenty-one feet post, two stories high. The 
upper story is divided into three apartments. The 
easterly room is appropriated for the Council cham- 
ber ; the middle, for the House of Representatives : 
and the westerly room is for the Courts of Common 
Law. The lower story is undivided. In the gar- 
ret are several convenient lobbies. 

1759. 

A gaol was built in this town, at the corner of 
Prison-lane, and Fetter-lane. It was constructed of 
oak timber hewn square and covered with iron bars, 
well spiked to the timber, and lined with plank. A 
dwelling house was annexed to it ; the whole was 
two stories high. 

Monday the 7th day of May, about two o'clock 
in the morning there was a severe thunder storm. 
The lightning struck the steeple of the south meet- 
ing-house, and rending the spire in pieces, quite 
down to the cupola, descended in the northeasterly 
and southwesterly corner posts ; th& former of which 
it shivered into small strips, from end to end ; and 



200 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

shattered one of the main posts, in the end of the 
house. It seems then to have moved horizontally 
upon the underpinning, split a considerable piece of 
the stone at the southeast corner of the building, 
and entered the ground at ten or fifteen feet dis- 
tance, making two considerable holes. Three cows 
and a hog were found dead on the north side of the 
meeting-house, two of which were in a stable, six- 
ty feet from the steeple. The windows in the 
steeple were all broken. Most of the glass in the 
westerly end, and some on the south side of the 
house were broken ; and the floor in the west end 
was forced up. 

After the reduction of Louisburg, General Am- 
herst succeeded General Abercrombie, as Command- 
er in Chief. Ticonderoga, Niagara, and Crown 
Point were taken by the troops under his command. 
There were great rejoicings in this town on ac- 
count of these successes. A number of cannon 
were discharged ; and the bells rung, not only 
through the day, but the whole of the following 
night without cessation. 

On the 18th of October, there were public rejoic- 
ings here on account of the reduction of Quebec, 
and other successes of the British arms. Public 
thanks were given to Almighty God for the remark- 
able interposition of his providence in these great 
events, and discourses suitable to the occasion, were 
delivered at the respective places of public worship. 
After which the bells rang, and cannon were dis- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 201 

charged from the different parts of the town from 
twelve o'clock until evening, and at noon from the 
ships in the harbour. At one o'clock a grand pro- 
cession was made through the town, under a stand- 
ard, representing a city besieged, with the motto 
Nil desperandum Christo duce. Three cheers were 
given at every corner. In the evening was a very 
large bonfire on wind-mill hill, in which the French 
flag was consumed, and the British preserved from 
the flames. There was an extraordinary display of 
fire-works ; and the town was illuminated. Over 
the front door of the State-House was a representa- 
tion of the city of Quebec in its ruins, after the 
surrender thereof, with General Wolfe ascending in 
a chariot, attended by victory, the ships below and 
above the city? and the English encampments at 
Point Levi, the bombs and cannon playing on the 
same ; the French flag flying, and the English flag 
above it, and the King's arms over the whole. Joy 
appeared in every countenance, and every heart 
was warmed with patriotic ardour. 

On the 8th of November, John Wentworth, Esq. 
only son of his Excellency Governor Benning Went- 
worth, died greatly lamented. His remains were 
interred on the 22d of the same month. A dis- 
course, suitable to the solemnity, was delivered in 
Queen's chapel, by the Rev. Arthur Brown. Mr. 
Wentworth's benevolent and charitable disposition, 
inoffensive life and conversation, had justly recom- 
mended him to all his acquaintance. 
26 



^02 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1760. 

Of those who have promised to figure in the re- 
public of letters, Daniel Treadwell, the son of Jacob 
Treadwell, takes a conspicuous place. His father 
was a native of Ipswich in Massachusetts, removed 
to this town, and carried on the business of a tan- 
ner. The son early discovered a taste for literature. 
He received the first rudiments of his education 
under the instruction of Major Hale, who for many 
years was master of the grammar-school here. He 
entered Harvard College in 1750, and during his 
residence there, applied so diligently to his studies, 
that he obtained the reputation of a good scholar, 
and was particularly distinguished for his knowledge 
of the mathematics. He received the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts in 1754, and was the same year 
elected professor of mathematics in King's College^ 
in New- York, over which institution the Rev. Sam- 
uel Johnson, D. D. presided. He was recommended 
to this office by Doctor Winthrop, who entertained 
a high opinion of his talents, and proficiency in that 
branch of academical knowledge. Nor were the 
corporation who elected him disappointed. He con- 
tinually rose in their esteem, and the President on 
a visit at Stratford, in Connecticut, in 1759, expres- 
sed the greatest anxiety that he had been obliged to 
leave this valuable young man in a declining state of 
health. Mr. Treadwell was attacked with a com- 
plaint on his lungS; which terminated in a consurap- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 203 

tion ; and early in the spring of the present year, 
he fell a sacrifice to that disorder, greatly lamented 
by all who knew him. 

On the 3d of February, at three o'clock in the 
morning, an earthquake was felt here and in the 
neighbouring towns. 

1761. 

Sunday morning, January 25th, a fire broke out in 
a barber's shop in King's-street, which communicat- 
ed to the house of Mr. James Stoodly, innholder, 
and raged with such fury as in two hours to con- 
sume his house, barn, and other out-houses. Its 
progress was then arrested by the exertions of the 
inhabitants. 

The daughters of Colonel John Tufton Mason, 
presented to Queen's chapel an elegant marble bap- 
tismal vase with a brazen cover, on which is inscribed 
Sarah Catherina et Anna Elizabetha Johannis Tuf- 
ton Mason Cohortis structoris filise ornatissimse hoc 
baptisterium, ex gallicis raanubiis apud Senegalliam, 
subauspiciis predicti Johannis acquisitum, ecclesiae 
Anglicanae apud Portsmouth in provincia, vulgo vo- 
cata New-Hampshire, liberaliter contulerunt Anno 
Domini 1761 et vicessimo sexto prsedicationis Ar- 
thuri Browne ; Wiseman Clagett et Samuel Liver- 
more ecclesise procuratoribus. 

The town built a house for a market on spring- 
hill, one story high. Thomas Wallingford, Esq. 



204 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

of Somersworth gave one thousand of boards to- 
wards it. 

A ledge of rocks extended across Court-street a i 
little below the north meeting-house. On these 
rocks, nearly in the middle of the street, was erect- 
ed a watch-house of brick, about ten or twelve feet 
square. 

A number of persons withdrew from the other 
churches in this town, and formed an independent 
congregation. The reasons of their separation were, 
to establish a society to be regulated by the Cam- 
bridge platform in discipline ; and in doctrines, by 
the New-England confession of faith. A church 
was collected by the assistance of the Rev. John 
Palmer, and Paul Parks of Connecticut, who occa- 
sionally visited them, and administered the sacra- 
ments. They purchased a lot of land in Pitt-street, 
on which they erected a meeting-house, which was 
so far completed, that they met in it this spring. 
They invited Mr. Samuel Drown of Bristol, Rhode 
Island, to settle with them in the ministry, which 
invitation he accepted. He was ordained to the 
pastoral care of this society on the second of No- 
vember. The Rev. Alexander Miller, Paul Parks, 
and John Palmer, all of Connecticut, assisted at the 
ordination. 

April 20th. Mr. John Stavers commenced run- 
ning a stage from this town to Boston. The car- 
riage was a curricle, drawn by two horses, sufficient- 
ly wide to carry three passengers. It left this town 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 205 

on Monday mornings and proceeded as far as Ip- 
swich the same day, and reached Charlestown ferry 
the next day. — It left Charlestown on Thursday, 
and arrived here on Friday. The fare from this 
place to Boston was thirteen shillings and sixpence 
sterling, equal to three dollars. It is supposed that 
this was the first stage which was ever run in 
America. 

1762. 

January 19th. The Honourable John Temple, 
Lieutenant Governor of this province, arrived in 
town. He was escorted by a troop of horse. On 
his arrival at the Council chamber, his commission 
was published, and he took the oaths required by 
law. The Lieutenant Governor was also appointed 
Surveyor-General of the King's Customs in the 
northern district of America, and Governor Went- 
worth issued his proclamation, requiring all offi- 
cers, civil and military, as well as all other persons, 
to aid and assist the Surveyor-General in executing 
the several acts of Parliament, regulating trade and 
navigation in his Majesty's plantations. 

March 25th. The town voted to purchase anoth- 
er engine, the cost of which is not to exceed sixty 
pounds sterling. 

A barn belonging to the Rev. Samuel Langdon, 
situated near his house, accidentally took fire and 
was consumed. 



206 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Doctor Nathaniel Sargent studied physic with 
Doctor Packer. He commenced practice at Hamp- 
ton, where he resided several years, but immedi- 
ately after tiie death of Doctor Peirce, removed to 
this town, where he soon engaged in a full course of 
business, and found as much practice as he could 
conveniently attend. He died in the month of June 
of this year. 

1763. 

April 3d. Sunday night, between twelve and one 
o'clock, a distressing fire happened, which entirely 
consumed the dwelling house occupied by Mr. John 
Wendell, merchant, situated on the street leading 
over Canoe-Bridge. The noise of the flames awoke 
him, and he discovered the fire raging beyond the 
hopes of extinguishing it. The town was soon 
alarmed, and by great exertions and assistance, he 
saved most of the furniture, books, and papers in 
the lower part of the house ; but every thing in the 
chambers was consumed. By the judicious manage- 
ment of the engines, and the alertness of the inhabit- 
ants, the buildings on each side, though not more than 
ten feet distant, were preserved. The fire-engines 
were found to be of very essential benefit. The 
town at this time owned but three, which were of 
the following dimensions ; the first contains fifty gal- 
lons, discharges seventy gallons, thirty-seven yards, 
in a minute. The second contains one hundred and 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 207 

twenty gallons, and discharges the same quantity 
forty-five yards in a minute ; and the third, one 
hundred ninety-six gallons, which it discharges fifty- 
two yards in a minute. 



1764. 

The small-pox was very prevalent in Boston, and 
from the continual intercourse, which was kept up 
between that place and this, both by land and wa- 
ter, there was great danger of its being brought 
here, and communicated to the inhabitants. To 
prevent which, the selectmen had a fence built 
across the road at Great Swamp, and a small house 
erected, to smoke all persons and baggage, coming 
from Boston by land. After they were thoroughly 
cleansed by the guard set there for the purpose, 
they received certificates, and were permitted to 
pass. The same caution was used in relation to all 
vessels from Boston, which were required to per- 
form quarantine, and every prudent method was 
adopted to destroy the infection. 

Doctor Hall Jackson resided in Boston two or 
three months, and carried several classes safelv 
through the disorder by inoculation ; a large num- 
ber went there from this town, to put themselves 
under his care. 

Peter Livius, Esq. made proposals to the town 
for building a bridge across Islington-Creek, twenty 



'*-: 



208 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

feet wide, part whereof to consist of a lifting-bridge 
thirty feet long, with flood gates under it of the 
same length, upon condition that the town would 
grant him the exclusive right to dam the water- 
course in said creek, together with all the benefits 
that may accrue therefrom to him, his heirs, and 
assigns forever. Whereupon the town, at a legal 
meeting called for the purpose, voted " That there 
be and hereby is granted to Mr. Peter Livius of 
this town, the sole and exclusive right and privilege 
to dam up the water-course in Islington-Creek, and 
to erect whatever mills may appear profitable to 
him thereon, together with all the profits and ad- 
vantages that may accrue therefrom to him, his 
heirs,and assigns forever, on the following conditions, 
viz. : That wholly and solely at his own proper cost 
and charges he shall erect, and forever maintain a 
bridge across the said creek, for the passage of the 
public, toll-free. That the said bridge shall be 
twenty feet wide, sufficiently strong for carts and 
horses, and that part thereof shall consist of a lift- 
ing-bridge of thirty feet in length, for the conven- 
iency of floating up and down any crafts, lumber, 
&c. or vessels, toll-free ; That there shall be made a 
pair of flood-gates in the dam, thirty feet wide un- 
der the said lifting-bridge ; That he be at liberty to 
build the bridge, and adjoin his buildings thereto, 
in the manner that shall appear most convenient to 
him ; and further, that if within seven years from 
this meeting, the above conditions be not complied 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 209 

with, then the above granted premises to revert to 
the town, to be regranted, or in case the said bridge 
should not constantly be kept in good and passable 
repair by the said Liviiis, or his heirs or assigns, 
then also the said privileges to revert to the town 
as aforesaid, and also to build two or more grist- 
mills on said stream, and keep them also in repair." 

Mr. Livius accepted this grant and proceeded 
without delay to build the dam and erect grist-mills 
upon it. He likewise constructed the bridge over 
the dam agreeable to his stipulations with the town. 

July. Two persons from Chester, one named 
Shirla, the other Wilson, came to this town on busi- 
ness. On their return just above the pound, Shirla 
was leading his horse, on which he had a quantity 
of fish, and Wilson was walking by the side of him, 
with his hand on the fish to support it. A thick 
black cloud suddenly arose in the west, from which 
a flash of lightning issued, and instantly killed Shir- 
la and his horse ; Wilson was struck to the ground 
and stunned, but recovered soon after without being 
materially injured. 

About this time Mr. Robert Sandeman came to 
this country and propagated his peculiar tenets in 
religion. Several small societies were formed in 
different parts of the country, which are called by 
his name, and thus a new sect or denomination of 
Christians arose. A society of Sandemanians was 
established in this town, and erected a building for 
public worship on a rise of ground in Pleasant-street. 
27 



210 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Colonel Thomas Thompson purchased the lot on 
vvliich this building stood, and built a house there/ 
which is now owned by his heirs. 

Towards the latter part of this year, Thomas Fur- 
ber, who had served his apprenticeship with Daniel 
Fowle, commenced publishing another weekly pa- 
per, entitled ^' The New-Hampshire Mercury and 
Weekly Advertizer.'^ He received assistance from 
some of the zealous whigs, who thought the print- 
ers of the New-Hampshire Gazette too timid in the 
cause of liberty, or their press too much under the 
influence of the officers of Government. 

The British government passed an act imposing 
duties on certain articles imported into the Ameri- 
can colonies. This was pretended to be for the 
purpose of regulating trade ; a power they had 
always claimed a right to exercise, it was there- 
fore submitted to without much opposition. Many 
viewed it as an attempt to tax the colonies without 
their consent, which was considered as a violation of 
the British constitution. The stamp act excited 
general alarm. It required stamped paper to be 
used in all legal and mercantile transactions. The 
paper was stamped in England, and sent over to 
agents here, to be disposed of as occasion required. 
All disputes and controversies arising under this 
act, were to be decided in a court of Admiralty, 
by a single Judge, without the intervention of a 



ANNALS OP PORTSMOUTH. 211 

The intention of the ministry to raise a revenue 
in this country, became very evident, and several of 
the colonies remonstrated against these laws as op- 
pressive, and unjust. 

The stamp act met with some opposition in Par- 
liament. Several distinguished members displayed 
their eloquence on the occasion. Colonel Barre, 
who was well acquainted in this country, predicted 
that the Americans would oppose the act, and in 
his speech styled them <^ Sons of Liberty." Those 
who opposed the arbitrary measures of the British 
government, assumed this name. 

1765, 

The opposition to the stamp act grew more vio- 
lent as the time appointed for carrying it into effect 
approached. George Meserve, Esq. a native of 
this town, son of the late Colonel Meserve, who 
died at Louisburg, was the agent, for distributing 
the stamps in New-Hampshire. He was in Eng- 
land at the time he was appointed, but soon after 
returned to this country. On his arrival at Boston 
the 9th of September, he heard the public senti- 
ment relative to these oppressive acts, and the de- 
termined opposition that was made to them in 
every part of the country. Upon the recommenda- 
tion ef his friends, he resigned his office of stamp 
master before he landed. The news of his arrival 
reached this town ; but his resignation was not gen- 



212 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

erally known. The indignation of the populace 
against him was manifested, not only by words, but 
on the morning of the 12th of September, his effigy 
was exhibited at the hay-market. It was accompa- 
nied by that of Lord Bute and the Devil. — Bute 
was at the head of the British ministry, that pro- 
cured the passing of the act, and they supposed the 
Devil to be the instigator of it. The effigies hung 
there through the day, and in the evening v^-ere 
carried through the town in a tumultuous manner, 
and publicly burnt. Mr. Meserve arrived here the 
18th of September, and was immediately surround- 
ed by a large concourse of people. To pacify them 
he made a public resignation of his office on the 
parade. He was congratulated on his safe return 
by his friends, who then waited upon him to his 
own house. The stamped paper, intended for this 
province, arrived at Boston the 30th of September, 
and there being no persons authorized to take charge 
of it. Governor Bernard directed it to be lodged in 
the Castle. The stamp act was to go into operation 
the 1st day of November. Newspapers were sub- 
ject to the stamp duties. 

The New-Hampshire Gazette on the last day of 
October, appeared with a black border round it, an 
emblem of mourning for the loss of liberty ; and the 
printer stated that he should publish it no longer, 
as he could not submit to the unjust tax. 

On the morning of the inauspicious day, a collec- 
tion of people from the country, expecting that the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 213 

Stamped paper* would be distributed, were marching 
towards the town for the purpose of preventing it, 
but being assured by a number of respectable gentle- 
men of Mr. Meserve's resignation, and that the stamps 
were not here, they dispersed, and returned to their 
respective homes. The day was ushered in by the 
tolling of all the bells in town, the vessels in the 
harbour had their colours hoisted half-mast high ; 
about three o'clock a funeral procession was formed, 
having a coffin with this inscription. Liberty aged 
145, stampt. It moved from the State-house, with 
two unbraced drums, through the principal streets. 
As it passed the parade, minute-guns were fired; 
at the place of interment a speech was delivered on 
the occasion, stating the many advantages we had 
received and the melancholy prospect before us, at 
the seeming departure of our invaluable liberties. 
But some signs of life appearing, Liberty was not 
deposited in the grave ; it was rescued by a number 
of her sons, the motto changed to Liberty revived, 
and carried off in triumph ; The detestable act was 
buried in its stead, and the clods of the valley were 
laid upon it ; the bells changed their melancholy 
sound to a more joyful tone. 

A spirit of discord began to appear among those 
persons, who were kept in order, only by the re- 
straints of law. They knew that stamps could not 
be obtained, and supposed that the courts of law 
could not proceed without them. In this they were 
mistaken; the courts were open, and all business 



214 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

proceeded in the same manner, as if the act had 
never passed, except that the sheriff would take no 
bail bonds, and the debtor, arrested on mesne pro- 
cess was obliged to remain in custody until the de- 
cision of his cause. Associations were formed in 
this town of its most respectable inhabitants, to 
support the magistrates in the execution of the law, 
and every attempt to disturb the peace of society, 
was instantly suppressed. 

Towards the close of the seventeenth century a 
person named Richard Wibird, came to this town in 
one of the King's ships. He was steward of the 
ship, or in an office subservient to the steward. 
His business was to furnish the table for the officers, 
and was generally called the King's poulterer. He 
married a Mrs. Due of Hampton, who had been in 
the practice of bringing small articles to market, 
and afterwards kept a retail shop in what is now 
called Market- street. He engaged in navigation, 
and was successful. By their joint exertions, they 
amassed a large estate. Mr. Wibird erected the 
first brick-house ever built in Portsmouth. They 
left three sons, Richard, Thomas, and John. John 
died in early life, and left one son, whose name was 
Anthony, who was settled in the ministry at Brain- 
tree. Richard Wibird was educated at Cambridge, 
and received his first degree in 1722. Soon after 
he left College, he engaged in merchandize, and 
pursued that business with diligence through life. 
He was one of the original proprietors of Mason's 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 215 

patent. In 1739 he was admitted one of his Ma- 
jesty's Councilj and in 1756, received the appoint- 
ment of Judge of Probate, and he retained these 
ofSces until his death, which took place the 25th of 
September, in the sixty-third year of his age. His 
house was the seat of hospitality ; and many, es- 
pecially among the clergy, partook of his munif- 
icence. 

Tuesday, November 12th. Thomas Wibird, Esq. 
died in the 59th year of his age. He was educated 
at Harvard College, and was graduated in 1728. 
Having experienced the benefit of a liberal educa- 
tion, he esteemed all useful learning, and patronised 
literary institutions. In his will he left a legacy of 
fifty pounds sterling to Harvard College, and sixty 
pounds sterling to the school for the instruction of 
the Indians, at Lebanon, in Connecticut, under the 
direction of the Rev. Dr. Wheelock. Mr. Wibird. 
gave sufficient silver to make two large flagons to 
the north church, of which he was a member. In 
his Christian course, he endeavoured to regulate his 
conduct by the precepts of the gospel, and to adorn 
his profession by a virtuous life and conversation. 
He was never married, and being possessed of a 
handsome estate, it was inherited, after the payment 
of several legacies, by some distant relations. 



216 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1766. 

Mr. Meserve did not receive his commission till 
long after the time appointed for the stamp act to 
commence its operation. As soon as it was known 
that he had received it the people were jealous, 
notwithstanding his resignation, that he intended to 
accept the office, and distribute the stamps. They 
assembled on the 9th of January, and demanded his 
commission, and instructions, which he delivered up 
to them : they then required him to make oath that 
he would not directly, nor indirectly, attempt to ex- 
ecute the office; which oath was administered to 
him publicly, by Wiseman Claggett, Esq. They 
marched through the streets, carrying the commis- 
sion in triumph on the point of a sword, exposed to 
public view. They afterward sent it, enclosed to 
the agents of the province in England, referring the 
disposal of it to their discretion. But lest some 
clandestine measures should be adopted to stop it, 
they required the master of the ship, by whom it 
was sent, to swear that on his arrival in England, he 
would deliver the package, containing the commis- 
sion and instructions, according to the direction. 
They used a flag on this occasion, on which were 
inscribed in large letters the words " Liberty^ 
Property, and no StampJ^ And to perpetuate this 
memorable event, they erected this standard at 
Swing-Bridge, which on this occasion they called 
Liberty-Bridge. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 217 

The stamp act was repealed the 18th day of 
March, and the news was received in this country, 
with extravagant demonstrations of joy. The pleas- 
ing intelligence was brought here by express from 
Boston, the 14th of April, and was confirmed by 
an arrival from St. Christopher's the same day. All 
the bells immediately commenced a joyful peal. 

Thursday^ the 22d day of May, was appointed for 
celebrating this important event in this town. At 
early dawn, all the bells began to ring; a discharge 
of cannon saluted the rising sun. A battery of 21 
guns was erected near Liberty-Bridge, and dedi- 
cated to his Majesty. Another of thirteen guns was 
erected on church-hill, in honour of Mr. Pitt, and 
a third, of five guns on the town-wharf. The ships 
in the harbour were decorated with their colours ; 
drums and military music contributed to the hilari- 
ty of the day. At twelve o'clock a royal salute was 
fired at Castle William and Mary by order of the 
Governor, which was answered by the batteries in 
town. A large number of gentlemen assembled at 
the Council chamber, and drank several patriotic 
toasts. In the afternoon a grand procession was 
made through the principal streets, and a salute was 
fired at each of the batteries as they passed. Mag- 
azines were provided, and the people were abund- 
antly supplied with every kind of refreshment. 
The bells continued ringing through the day. In 
theevening a bonfire was kindled on wind-mill hill. 
A mast had been raised the foot of which was set 
28 



218 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

several feet in the ground, and a stage was built 
round it, filled with combustible materials ; the fire 
ascended majestically to the top of the mast, when it 
communicated with a bomb, deposited there, which 
made a fine explosion. A house near the State- 
house, was illuminated, and a beautiful display of 
fire-works was made from a stage erected in the 
front of it. The whole transaction was conducted 
with decorum, sobriety, and innocent mirth, " to 
the hbnour of the managers, who obtained the uni- 
versal applause of the spectators." 

Mr. Meserve petitioned the General Assembly 
for indemnity for the injuries, he had sustained. 
His petition was referred to a committee, who 
reported, " that he had suffered no real damage 
either in person or property ; but that, when any 
real danger had been expected, guards had been 
appointed to protect him ;" upon which the peti- 
tion was dismissed. 

A spirit of speculation in new lands, prevailed 
among all ranks in society. Applications were con- 
tinually made to the Governor for grants, and he 
readily complied with the requests. The townships 
were generally laid out six miles square ; in each 
of which, he reserved to himself a tract of five hun- 
dred acres. By these reservations and the perqui- 
sites of office, he amassed a large estate. 

Governor Wentworth had not taken any active 
part in support of the urrpopular measures, pursued 
by the British ministry, and Was ia favour with the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 219 

people. Some complaints, however, had been ex- 
hibited against him, and the ministry had determin- 
ed to remove him from office, and to appoint his 
nephew, John Wentworth, as his successor. 

Mr. Wentworth had been sometime in England, 
and had acted as agent for the province ; by which 
means, he became acquainted with some of the 
ministry. He was patronized by the Marquis of 
Rockingham, whose name was Wentworth, and who 
was at this time, at the head of the administration. 

He interceded with the Marquis in behalf of his 
uncle, and obtained permission for him to resign, 
instead of being removed from office. 

Mr. John Wentworth received his commissions as 
Governor of New- Hampshire, and as Surveyor of 
the woods in North America, the 11th of August. 

June. A letter signed by fifty -five of the prin- 
cipal merchants in London, trading to North Amer- 
ica, was sent by express, when the act repealing the 
stamp act, received the royal assent, directed to the 
honourable Mark Hunking Wentworth, and the rest 
of the merchants in Portsmouth, New-Hampshire, 
informing them of the repeal ; mildly reproving the 
conduct of those, who violently opposed the opera- 
tion of the act ; and recommending more moderate 
measures in future. Similar letters were sent to the 
merchants in other sea-ports. 

August 5th. There was an eclipse of the sun, 
which began at 38 minutes past eleven, A. M. and 
ended 50 minutes after two; P. M. — Digits eclips- 
ed 9^. 



220 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1767. 

Henry Sherburne, Esquire, departed this life on 
the 30th of March, in the 58th year of his age. 
His ancestors were among the early settlers of the 
town, and had taken an active part in the manage, 
ment of its concerns. He was educated at Harvard 
College, where he was graduated in 1728. Soon 
after his return from College, he engaged in mercan- 
tile business, which he pursued to great advantage 
until his death. Mr. Sherburne was employed 
through life in many important public offices, in 
addition to his private business. In 1729, he was 
appointed Clerk of the Inferior Court of Common 
Pleas, for the province, which office he held about 
ten years. In 1731, and several years after, he was 
chosen one of the selectmen, in which capacity he 
exerted himself to promote the interest of the town. 
In January, 1745, he was elected one of the repre- 
sentatives of this town to the General Assembly, to 
which office, he was elected twenty-one years in 
succession. In 1753, he was chosen Speaker of the 
Jiouse of Representatives, and was successively cho- 
sen to fill that chair, until he was promoted to the 
Council. His Majesty's mandamus, which entitled 
him to a seat at that board, was dated February 21st, 
1766. He was elected one of the commissioners 
at the Congress, which met at Albany, in 1754. In 
1765, he received the appointment of a Justice of 
the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for the prov- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 221 

ince. Through two long and tedious wars with the 
French and Indians, he acted as one of the commit- 
tee of war, and was active in procuring all necessary 
supplies in season for the service. He discharged 
the duties of these several offices with great punc- 
tuality and dispatch. ^^ His natural genius was 
strong, and his judgment clear ;'' both were improv- 
ed by a liberal education and uncommon diligence, 
which enabled him to accomplish the multiplicity of 
business, in which he was engaged. For many 
years he was afflicted with a most distressing asth- 
ma, which he bore with Christian fortitude, and 
resignation. He was constant and zealous in his 
devotional exercises, and the ministers of the gospel 
always found a cordial reception at his house. 

Thomas Wallingford, Esq. of Somersworth, pre- 
sented to the town a lot of land at the north end, 
for the erection of a school-house ; which he con- 
veyed by deed duly executed. This donation was 
gratefully accepted, and the selectmen were direct- 
ed to have a building erected thereon for the 
purpose intended by the donor, agreeable to a plan, 
exhibited by a committee. 

Governor John Wentworth arrived at Charles- 
ton, in South Carolina, in March ; and came from 
thence by land. He was treated with distinguished 
marks of attention and respect in every province, 
through which he passed. Several members of his 
Majesty's Council, and a committee of the General 
Assembly, escorted by a troop of horse, received 



222 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

him at the province line, and waited upon him to 
this town. A number of gentlemen from Ports- 
mouth and the neighbouring towns, joined them on 
the road, and the whole formed a grand cavalcade. 
At the entrance of King-street a regiment of mili- 
tia, and the independent companies were paraded, 
who gave him a military salute, as he passed. He 
alighted at the State-house, and was introduced in- 
to the Council-chamber, where he was attended by 
the Council and officers of government. The com- 
mission appointing him Governor, and Commander 
in Chief of the province, and a commission from the 
Lords of Admiralty, appointing him Vice Admiral 
of the same, were publicly read by the High Sher- 
iflT. The Sheriff also published an ordinance of the 
Governor, directing and requiring all officers of the 
government, to execute their offices till further 
orders. The Governor, Council, and gentlemen 
present, partook of an elegant entertainment, pre- 
pared for the occasion. At the close of the day, a 
procession was formed, which waited upon the Gov- 
ernor to his seat, where they left him to receive, if 
possible, a more endearing reception from liis affec- 
tionate family, who had long expected this happy 
event. The guns of the fort and batteries in town, 
fired a salute, and the ships displayed thesir colours. 
Such ardency and emulation prevailed among all 
ranks on this occasion, as gave the most promising 
hopes, that his Excellency's government would be 
crowned with the most cordial affections of the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 223 

people, whose happiness and his own were now so 
intimately blended. 

The General Court met in September, and voted 
the Governor seven hundred pounds, as a salary for 
the present year ; besides an allowance for house- 
rent. The House were divided on the question of 
making the salary permanent, and the Speaker de- 
cided it in the negative. His salary as Surveyor of 
the woods was seven hundred pounds a year. 

Spanish dollars were estimated at six shillings 
each. 

1768. 

The situation of public affairs had assumed a very 
alarming aspect. A large number of the most re- 
spectable inhabitants petitioned the selectmen to 
notify a town-meeting, for the purpose of instruct- 
ing their representatives. The town, on the first of 
August, agreed upon the instructions to be given 
them : in which they stated the grievances, which 
the country suffered, expressed their duty and loy- 
alty to the King, and the confidence they had in his 
desire to promote the happiness of his subjects, and 
enjoined it upon them " to use their utmost influ- 
ence in the General Assembly, to forward as soon aa 
possible, a full and humble representation to his 
Majesty, of the sentiments of his loyal subjects in 
the province, assuring him of their steady attach- 
ment to his Royal person, and zealous adherence to 



224 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the English constitution, and most humbly petition- 
ing his Majesty with all duty and loyalty, that in his 
great wisdom and clemency, he would redress their 
grievances, and protect them in their constitutional 
rights. 

Friday, December 30th. Ruth Blay, of South- 
Hampton, was executed in pursuance of the sentence 
of death, pronounced upon her by the Superior 
Court at August term last. She was indicted for 
concealing the birth of a bastard child, so that it 
might not come to light, whether the said child was 
born alive or not. Wiseman Claggett, Esquire^ was 
the King's Attorney, who conducted the prosecu- 
tion. The Court were, Theodore Atkinson, Chief 
Justice, Thomas Wallingford, Meshech Weare, and 
Leverett Hubbard, Justices. She was convicted by 
the verdict of a jury, and sentenced to be hanged 
by the neck until she should be dead. This sen- 
tence was executed by Thomas Packer, Sheriff of 
the province, on a ridge of high land in a field, 
belonging to the south parish, lying on the south 
road, and on the road leading to Little-Harbour. 
She was buried in the same field, near the bottom 
of the hill. A vast concourse of people attended. 

1769. 

James Nevin, Esquire, one of his Majesty's Coun- 
cil and Collector of the customs for this port, died 
on the 6th of February, in the sixtieth year of his 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 225 

age. He was much respected in his office, the 
duties of which he discharged with fidelity. He 
was born in Scotland, and was a Post Captain in the 
British Navy. John Hughes of Philadelphia, suc- 
ceeded him as Collector. 

The weather in the months of January and Feb- 
ruary was very severe. The river was frequently 
filled with ice, which was frozen so intensely near 
the shores, that people passed and repassed on it 
with safety, between this town and New-Castle. 

Theodore Atkinson, jr. one of his Majesty's 
Council, and Secretary of the province, departed 
this life on Saturday, the 28th of October, aged 
thirty-three years ; and on the Wednesday follow- 
ing, his remains were deposited in the family tomb 
at Queen's-Chapel. During the procession minute 
guns were fired at Castle William and Mary, and 
from his Majesty's ship Beaver in the harbour ; and 
every other testimony of respect was shown, which 
his public station and private virtues demanded. — 
He was the only son of the Honourable Theodore 
Atkinson, Chief Justice of the province, and Pres- 
ident of the Council. He received his education at 
Harvard College, and was graduated in the year 
1757. He was mild and obliging in his disposition, 
faithful and correct in his official duties, and devout 
in the exercises of religion. 

Saturday, November 11th. Governor Wentworth 
was married by the Rev. Arthur Brown, in Queen's - 
Chapel, to Mrs. Frances Atkinson, relict of Theo- 
29 



226 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

dore Atkinson, jr. deceased, and daughter of Sam- 
uel Wentworth, Esq. of Boston. 

On the 13th of Decemher, Governor Wentworth 
granted a charter to Dartmouth College, which was 
established at Hanover. It took its name from 
William, Earl of Dartmouth, one of its principal 
benefactors in England. 

1770. 

The Rev. Samuel Drowne died the 17th of Janu- 
ary, in the fiftieth year of his age. He was much 
esteemed by his people, for his great integrity and 
zeal, in the discharge of his duties. 

James Mc'Masters and several other persons, hav- 
ing violated the nonimportation agreement at Bos- 
ton, and finding the popular opinion so strong against 
them that they could not sell their goods in that 
place, removed to this town, to dispose of them here. 
This occasioned great clamour among many of the 
inhabitants, at whose request a public meeting was 
held on the 1 1th of April, when it was, among other 
things resolved that it would be highly unreasonable 
to suffer those persons that have been counteracting 
the good intentions of the neighbouring govern- 
ments, to come among us and sell their goods. And 
that those, who encouraged, aided, or assisted them^ 
should be esteemed enemies to the town. 

Another meeting was held on the 12th July, at 
the request of a number of inhabitants, to see what 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 227 

resolutions the town would think advisable to adopt 
with regard to the late revenue acts, and whether 
they shall judge it expedient to continue the impor- 
tation and sale of British goods. The subject was 
referred to a respectable committee, who reported 
at the adjournment on the 24th July ; but the 
meeting was dissolved without acting upon it. 

On Sunday morning, September 30th, the Rev. 
George Whitefield died at Nevvburyport, in the 
56th year of his age. On Tuesday, being the day 
€f his funeral, all the bells in this town, tolled from 
eleven o'clock until nearly sunset, on the occasion. 

Mr. Whitefield was born at Gloucester in Eng- 
land, in 1714. His father was an innkeeper, and 
he was designed for the same employment. "'^ He 
was distinguished at school, for a retentive memory, 
and good elocution. '' As he approached towards 
manhood, he received some serious impressions^ and 
began to think of qualifying himself for the minis- 
try. About the age of eighteen he was admitted a 
servitor of Pembroke College, in Oxford ; where he 
associated with young persons of the same habits 
and disposition with himself ; which served to 
'^" cherish that religious enthusiasm, to which he was 
strongly addicted.'' He took the degree of Bachel- 
lor of Arts in 1736, and about the same time was 
ordained a deacon by the Bishop of Gloucester. 
He crossed the Atlantic in 1738, and arrived at 
Savannah, in Georgia, in May, where he determin- 
ed to erect a seminary upon a charitable foundation, 



228 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

for the educatiou of orphan children, which he cal-^ 
led the orphan- house ; and returned to England the 
next year to collect money for the purpose. He 
was admitted to Priest's orders in 1740, and being 
very popular as a preacher, he commanded large 
audiences, wherever he went. Many of the cler- 
gy refused him admittance into their pulpits ; and 
but few of the churches, to which he had access, 
could accommodate the crowds of people, that as- 
sembled to hear him ; which compelled him to 
preach in the open air. On these occasions he was 
sometimes treated with rudeness, but his peculiarly 
happy address, generally commanded respectful at- 
tention. In 1748, the Countess of Huntington ap- 
pointed him her chaplain. " His labours were 
incessant." He spent a great part of his time, as 
an itinerant preacher, in various parts of England, 
Scotland, and North America. He made seven 
visits to this country, and travelled fix)m Georgia to 
Maine, preaching in every populous town he passed 
through to very numerous assemblies. The week 
previous to his death, he preached four times in 
this town, and on Saturday, at Exeter. As none of 
the public buildings in that place, could contain 
the people, assembled on the occasion, he olhci- 
ated in the open air ; and in the afternoon, rode 
to Newburyport, where he intended to preach 
the next day. But Providence had ordered oth- 
erwise. He was much afflicted with the asthma, 
and it was supposed that his exertions the day bo- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 229 

fore, brought on the paroxysm, which put a period 
to his life and usefulness. No clergyman ever pos- 
sessed the powers of oratory in a higher degree. 
His gestures were graceful, '* his voice was strong 
and musical, his pronunciation clear and distinct, his 
imagination was lively, and his feelings were warm." 
These qualifications gave him a most absolute 
command of the attention and passions of his 
hearers. — He was easy, polite, and engaging in his 
manners, facetious and pleasant in conversation, 
and sometimes indulged himself in a vein of satire, 
where the occasion justified him. His heart was 
susceptible of -the most tender and generous friend- 
ship, and he continually expressed his gratitude to 
the Giver of every good and perfect gift, for the 
many instances of kindness, which he received from 
his fellow men. He never forgot the important bu- 
siness in which he was engaged, but embraced every 
opportunity that was offered to enforce the truths of 
religion, and the practice of virtue ; guarding his 
hearers against depending upon the flights of im- 
agination, and admonishing them that a holy life is 
the best evidence of a state of grace. 

Sunday, October 14th, the honourable Benning 
Wentworth, late Governor of this province, departed 
this life in the 75th year of his age, and on the 19th, 
his remains were deposited in his family tomb. — The 
regiment of militia attended the funeral under arms, 
and St. John's Lodge of free and accepted Masons, 
preceded the corpse to Queen's- Chapel, where an 



230 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

appropriate discourse was delivered by the Rev. 
Arthur Brown, Rector of that church. He was the 
son of Lieutenant Governor John Wentworth, and 
was educated at Harvard College, where he was 
graduated in 1715. On leaving College he turned 
his attention to trade, and engaged largely in mer- 
cantile affairs, which he conducted with great integ- 
rity and punctuality. But repeated misfortunes, 
that followed in quick succession, obliged him to 
retire from business. He represented this town 
several years in the General Assembly, and was 
afterward one of his Majesty's Council. On the 
removal of Governor Belcher, he was appointed 
Chief Magistrate of the province. It has been 
objected against him, that all the important offices 
in the government, were filled by his particular 
friends and near connexions. However just this 
censure may be, in his administration he was faithful 
to the King, and endeavoured to promote the wel- 
fare of the people. He was infiuential in procuring 
from the General Assembly a grant of three hun- 
dred pounds to Harvard College, towards replacing 
their library, which had been destroyed by fire. In 
consequence of this donation one of the alcoves in 
that extensive library, is marked New-Hampshire. 
He was warmly attached to the Episcopal church, 
of which he was an exemplary member. He would 
have established a College in New-Hampshire, if 
it could have been placed under the direction of the 
Bishop of London, but his views respecting it did 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 231 

not accord with the public sentiment. He after- 
wards presented to Dartmouth College, five hundred 
acres of land in Hanover, on which the College 
edifice and the adjacent buildings are erected. 

He continued in office twenty-five years ; which 
is a much longer term, than any other Governor in 
America, ever held his commission. 

1771. 

The General Assembly made a grant of one 
hundred pounds lawful money to the Rev. Doctor 
Wheelock, President of Dartmouth College, in con- 
sideration of the expense of his leaving his parish 
in Connecticut and removing to this province to 
take charge of that institution. The town, on the 
29th of March, to signify their entire satisfaction, 
in the grant, and their cheerful readiness to pay 
their full proportion thereof, or of a larger sum if 
the Assembly had thought proper to have granted 
it — Voted, unanimously, *^ That the thanks of this 
town be given to the honourable Assembly for the 
above grant, and that the town-clerk be desired to 
present them with a copy of this vote.'' 

The act dividing the province into counties took 
effect this year, and half the courts for the county 
of Rockingham were removed to Exeter. In the 
appointment of Judges, Peter Livius, who had been 
a Justice of the Common Pleas, was not reappointed. 



232 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Thomas Packer, Esq. died the 22d of June. He 
had served in the office of Sheriff of the province 
thirty years, and was universally esteemed an up- 
right, honest man, faithful in the discharge of the 
duties of his office, but rigidly severe in the execu- 
tion of it. 

The Governor appointed John Parker, Esq. his 
successor. And in August the honourable William 
Parker was appointed a Justice of the Superior 
Court of Judicature, instead of the honourable 
Thomas Wallingford, deceased. 

Colonel Wallingford was a native of Somersworth, 
where he usually resided. In early life he was in 
indigent circumstances, and depended upon manual 
labour for his support ; but by industry and econo- 
my, rose to wealth and opulence. He engaged in 
mercantile business, and was very successful. He 
possessed a large real estate in this town, and was 
one of the original purchasers of Mason's patent ; 
by which he acquired a great landed interest in 
various parts of the province. He commanded a re- 
giment of militia, and for many years was one of the 
Judges of the Superior Court. Being in this town 
on business, he was taken sick at a public house, and 
died after a few days illness on the 4th of August. 
His corpse was removed to Somersworth for inter- 
ment. 

At the last annual meeting, the town voted to 
build a house of correction, in which all idle and 
disorderly persons in the town should be confined to 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 233 

hard labour, agreeable to law. In pursuance of 
which vote, the building was erected in the work- 
house yard. 

The Collector and Controller of the Customs, seiz- 
ed the Brigantine Resolution and her cargo, consist- 
ing of one hundred hogsheads of molasses, for not 
entering the molasses, and securing the duties ; and 
put the same under the care of the officers of the 
customs, and caused the same to be libelled before 
the Court of Vice Admiralty. But about midnight 
following the 29th day of October, a large number of 
persons in disguise, armed with clubs, entered and 
took possession of the Brigantine, and having con- 
fined the officers, proceeded to unlade her. The 
Governor issued his proclamation offering a reward 
of two hundred dollars for discovering the rioters, 
so that they might be convicted. 

1772. 

Mr. Hughes resided in this town about twelve 
months, and then returned to Philadelphia. He 
was succeeded as Collector by Robert Hallowell, 
Esq. who removed to this town, and continued here 
about a year. 

Mr. Meserve had been appointed Controller of 
the port of Boston, as a compensation for his losses, 
and disappointment, in being deprived of the office 
of Stamp Master. By permission of the British 
government; he and Mr. Hallowell exchanged 
30 



234 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

offices. Mr. Meserve returned to this town and 
executed the office of Collector here. 

Mr. Livius resented the neglect, which he suf- 
fered, in not being reappointed a Justice of the 
Court, and being one of the Council, set himself in 
opposition to the Governor, and entered his dissent 
to questions before the Council. He went to Eng- 
land, and exhibited before the Lords of Trade, a 
complaint against the Governor and Council, who 
were furnished with copies of said complaint, and 
appointed agents to attend to their defence. 

The honourable Sampson Sheafe was born, at 
Great-Island in the year 1681 : he was educated at 
Harvard College, and was graduated in 1702. Af- 
ter he left College he turned his attention to mer- 
chandise, and was largely engaged in the fishery, 
and West-India trade. He was appointed a Coun- 
sellor in 1740, and resigned his seat at the Council- 
board in 1761, being then eighty years of age, hav- 
ing held the office twenty-one years. He died at 
the advanced age of ninety-one years. 

1773. 

After a full hearing, the board of trade represent- 
ed to the King, that the complaint against the Gov- 
ernor had been fully verified. But that reports, 
which they had received through different channels, 
of the situation of affairs within New-Hampshire, 
did all concur in representing the colony to have 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 235 

been, since Mr. Wentworth's appointment, in a 
state of peace and prosperity; that its commerce 
I had been extended, and the number of its inhabit- 
ants increased ; and that every attempt made to 
excite the people to disorder and disobedience, had 
been, by the firm and temperate conduct of Mr. 
Wentworth, suppressed and restrained. 

The cause was relieard before a committee of the 
privy council, who reported, '^ That there was no 
foundation for any of the charges, contained in the 
complaint against Mr. Wentworth, and that the 
general conduct of his administration had tended 
greatly to the peace and prosperity of the prov- 
ince.'' Which report was approved by the King. 

This acquittal and approbation of the Governor, 
gave general satisfaction. The House of Represen- 
tatives congratulated him in the name of their con- 
stituents ; and the citizens of this town gave a 
splendid ball on the occasion to the Governor and 
General Assembly. 

Mr. Livius was a gentleman of foreign descent, 
liberal education and handsome fortune. He came 
to this country for the purpose of vesting his prop- 
erty in lands. After he left the province, he ob- 
tained a lucrative office in Quebec, and never re- 
turned here. 

The Rev. Arthur Brown, the worthy Rector of 
Queen's-Chapel, died at Cambridge the 10th of 
June, in the seventy-fourth year of his age ; having 
ministered in the church here, thirty-seven years. 
His remains were brought to this town, and interred 



236 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

in the church-yard. The Rev. Edward Bass, of 
Nevvburyport, preached on the sorrowful occasion 
to a numerous audience. Mr. Brown possessed a 
strong and active mind, improved by education. 
He was very attentive to his duties as a clergyman, 
and endeavoured to promote the temporal as well as 
spiritual interest of the people of his charge. He 
sought for objects of poverty and distress among them, 
and exerted himself to procure them relief. His 
sermons were written with classical correctness, and 
delivered with manly eloquence. He was strongly 
attached to the ceremonies of the church, and ob- 
served them with scrupulous exactness. He claimed 
some prerogatives as a parson, which, though usual 
in the English church, had never been assumed by 
the other ministers here ; this circumstance render- 
ed him unpopular with the dissenters, and caused 
them to charge him with bigotry. He was beloved 
by his parish, who lamented his death. In a letter 
from the church to the society for the propagation 
of the gospel in foreign parts, his character is thus 
delineated. ^' Good conduct, a most noble and be- 
nevolent disposition, excellent preaching, sound doc- 
trines, and good oratory, were qualifications regu- 
larly exhibited and ever conspicuous in our late 
faithful divine. '' He published four sermons, and 
remarks on Doctor Mayhew's incidental reflections. 
Andrew Clarkson, Esq. was a native of Scotland, 
and was born about the beginning of the present 
century. He was educated in the Protestant faith, 
and was a Presbyterian, but infatuated in his youth 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 237 

with the delusion, which possessed many of his 
countrymen at that time, he enlisted under the ban- 
ners of the pretender, and was an ensign in his 
army. After the defeat of the army, many of the 
prisoners were treated as rebels. Mr. Clarkson 
came to this country in the year 1717, and brought 
with him the colours belonging to his company. 
He settled in this town as a place of safety, being 
then about seventeen or eighteen years of age, and 
became a teacher in one of the public schools. He 
boarded at the house of Mr. William Cotton, a tan- 
ner, at the south part of the town. Mr. Cotton 
died, whilst Mr. Clarkson was a member of his fam- 
ily, and left a widow and six small children. Mr. 
Clarkson married the widow, who was several years 
older than himself, took charge of the tan-yard, and 
acquired by means of it, a handsome property. He 
often spoke of the early transactions of his life, 
with regret, but said, he thought at the time, that 
his conduct was justifiable. ^^ He represented the 
town several years in the General Assembly, and 
held many other important trusts ; in all of which he 
distinguished himself as a firm patriot and friend of 
mankind. He possessed an amiable, kind, and be- 
nevolent disposition ; was open, honest, and generous 
in his conduct, which endeared him to his numerous 
friends, and acquaintance. He enjoyed through 
life an uncommon serenity and cheerfulness of mind, 
resulting from his iirm belief of the gospel ; the 
precepts of which, he exemplified in his life, and 



238 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

fully demonstrated its power, in his resignation at 
the prospect of death." 

The honourable Daniel Peirce died the 4th of 
December, in the sixty -sixth year of his age. He 
held the offices of Recorder of Deeds, and Justice of 
the Peace many years, and in the year 1766, was 
appointed one of his Majesty's Council for this 
province. The duties of these several offices, he 
discharged with great punctuality, and undeviat- 
ing rectitude. He was endowed with uncommon 
strength of mind, a sound and penetrating judg- 
ment, improved by reading and conversation. Al- 
though he had not the advantage of a public educa- 
tion, the classics were familiar to him. He read 
much in divinity, not as a science, but as a rule of 
conduct. Doctor Doddridge was his favourite author, 
and the maxims deduced from these studies, regulat- 
ed him in public and private life. As a counsellor 
and magistrate he endeavoured to conform to the 
principles of law. He took great pains to obtain 
information before he formed an opinion on any 
subject ; but having once come to a- conclusion, he 
adhered to it, with an almost pertinacious firmness ; 
but he had the satisfaction of generally judging 
right. He was affable, judicious and sensible, and 
his friends seldom left him, without being instructed 
by his conversation. He was liberal to the poor, 
whom he always relieved with cheerfulness ; and 
participated with them in the pleasures, which he 
communicated by his charity. 

Vir Justus, veriqtie tenax. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 239 

The British Parliament repealed the duties on 
articles imported into America, excepting on tea. 
To avoid that imposition the colonies very generally 
agreed, not to import or use any tea, while it was 
subject to the duty. To obviate this difficulty the 
duty was taken off, and the East-India Company was 
permitted to ship teas to America on their own ac- 
count, for which they were to pay a duty of three 
pence per pound on its being landed here. Under 
this regulation, teas would be cheaper, than they 
formerly were, which circumstance it was thought^^ 
would effect throughout the country, an acquies- 
cence in the measures of government. The design 
of the ministry to raise a revenue in the colonies 
without their consent, was apparent. The objec- 
tion was to the principle, not to the amount of the 
tax, and the opposition to it was generaj. Almost 
every trading town on the sea-coast passed resolu- 
tions to prevent the landing of any tea, shipped 
to this country by the East-India Company. This 
town partook of the same spirit ; and at a public 
meeting held the 16th day of December, adopt- 
ed the following preamble and resolves. 

^^ Upon a serious consideration of tht late act of 
Parliament, subjecting the colonies to pay a duty 
upon teas in America, and more especially the act 
of Parliament, passed at their last session, whereby 
the East-India Company have full power to export 
their teas to the colonies, liable to a duty upon be- 
ing landed here, it appears manifestly that the latter 



240 ANNALS OF PORTSJMOUTH. 

(act) was artfully designed by the ministry to carry 
more effectually into execution the former, which 
was made for the express purpose of raising a reve- 
nue from the colonies by the authority of the British 
Parliament only, without our consent. Wherefore, 
from a due sense of the value and importance of 
our liberties and properties, and from just appre- 
hensions of the horrors of slavery, we are induced 
to make the following resolves. 

First — That the measures of late pursued by the 
ministry of Great Britain in their attempt to subject 
the colonies to taxation by the sole authority of the 
British Parliament, are not only unjust, arbitrary, 
and inconsistent with the fundamental principles of 
the British constitution, but directly tend to hasten 
on the destruction of an empire, which by preserv- 
ing in all its parts, those original rights, which first 
gave rise to its present glory, might increase in 
wealth and power, become the envy of all nations, 
and continue in full strength and grandeur for ages 
to come ; therefore, in the foregoing view, we can- 
not but think ourselves bound by our duty to the 
King, and love to the nation of which we are mem- 
bers, to oppose such measures to the utmost of our 
power. 

Secondly — That it is the natural right of men 
born and inheriting estates in any part of the Brit- 
ish dominions, to have the power of disposing of 
their own property, either by themselves or their 
representatives. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 241 

Thirdly — That the act of the British Parliaraentj 
laying a duty upon teas landed in America, payable 
here, is a tax, whereby the property of Americans 
is taken from them without tlieir consent. 

Fourthly — That notwithstanding the preamble to 
the act laying a duty upon teas, asserts that the act 
is made for the support of government, the adminis- 
tration of Justice, &c. in America^ yet this is not 
only unnecessary, but has a direct tendency to sub- 
vert our constitution, render our assemblies useless, 
and the government arbitrary. 

Fifthly — That every virtuous and public spirited 
freeman ought steadily to oppose to the utmost of 
his ability, every artful attack of the ministry to 
enslave the Americans. 

Sixthly — That the power given by Parliament 
to the East-India Company, to send out their teas to 
the colonies, subjected to the payment of duties on 
being landed here, is a plain attempt to enforce the 
ministerial plan, and a direct attack upon the liber- 
ties of America, and that it is the indispensable 
duty of all true hearted Americans, to render this 
effect abortive. 

Seventhly — That a union of all the colonies ap- 
pears to be the most likely method, under God, of 
obtaining a repeal of all those acts, which are so 
subversive of the freedom of the British colonies, 
and destructive to the whole nation. 

Eighthly — That in case any of the Company's 
teas should be brought into this port for sale, we 
31 



24^ ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

will use every necessary method to prevent its be- 
ing landed or sold here. 

Ninthly — That whoever shall directly or indi- 
rectly promote or in any ways aid and assist in the 
importation of any of the East-India Company's 
teas, or any teas subject to payment of a duty here, 
by an act of the British Parliament, shall be deem- 
ed an enemy to America. 

Tenthly — That this town do hereby return their 
thanks, to all their brethren in the several govern- 
ments, upon this continent, for their noble exertions 
upon this important and alarming occasion. 

Eleventhly — That the proceedings of this meet- 
ing be published, and sent to every considerable 
town in this government ; and that a committee be 
chosen to correspond with them, and with the seve- 
ral committees in the other governments." 

A committee of correspondence, consisting of sev- 
en respectable inhabitants, was chosen for the above 
purpose. 

1774. 

April 12th. The town instructed their represen- 
tatives to use their influence in the General Assem- 
bly, to join with the other colonies in every consti- 
tutional method to oppose the claim of Parliament 
to tax us without our consent, and to keep up a 
continual correspondence with them for that pur- 
pose; to abolish the Court of Appeals, and also 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 243 

to employ their efForts, that the Justices of the 
courts of law should hold their offices during good 
behaviour, and not at the will of the crown : that 
adequate salaries should be granted to the Justices 
of the Superior Court ; that they strenuously op- 
pose any salary's being granted to either of the 
Justices of the courts of law independent of this 
government; that they should take the opinion of 
the Judges and some lawyers as to the operation of 
any law of consequence, which they are about to 
pass ; that good roads be made into the interior part 
of the province ; that laws be passed to prohibit the 
importation of slaves ; that secure places be provid- 
ed for the records of the several offices ; that the 
fees in all public offices be established by law ; that 
enquiry be made concerning the application of all 
money granted for the use of the government, espe- 
cially the powder money ; that the representatives 
be chosen annually, and that their doors should be 
open to all who choose to hear their debates. 

On the 25th of June twenty-seven chests of tea, 
subject to the duty, were landed and stored in the 
custom-house, before the inhabitants had knowledge 
of it. A town-meeting was held on the 27th, which 
appointed a guard to keep the tea secure, and to 
prevent insults being offered to any individual on 
account of it. Upon consultation with Edward Par- 
ry, Esq. the consignee, it was agreed that he should 
reship the tea, and a committee was chosen to see 
this agreement executed. The tea having been 



244 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

entered, the consignee paid the duty upon it openly, 
which was necessary before it could be reshipped. 
The Governor used every precaution to preserve the 
peace of the town, and every thing remained quiet. 
The tea was reshipped and sent to Halifax. 

A committee of inspection was appointed to ex- 
amine and find out if any tea should be imported, 
and upon the discovery of any, to give the earliest 
notice thereof to the town. 

Seven deputies were chosen the 15th of July 
to meet the deputies from the other towns in the 
province, to elect a delegate to the General Con- 
gress, which is to meet at Philadelphia the 1st of 
September next. 

The inhabitants entered into an agreement in 
writing, which was generally signed, by which they 
pledged their faith and honour, that they will not 
import, sell, purchase, or consume any kinds of 
East-India teas, nor suffer the same to be used or 
consumed in their respective families, until the 
present duties be taken off. 

September 8th. The ship Fox, commanded by 
Captain Zachariah Norman, arrived here, having 
on board thirty chests of tea, consigned to Edward 
Parry, Esq. ; which caused some disturbance in the 
town ; the populace broke the windows of the con- 
signee, and he applied to the Governor for protec- 
tion. The Governor convened the Council, and 
required the aid of the magistrates and other civil 
officers to suppress the riot, which was soon effected. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 245 

The town assembled the next day, and Edward 
Parry, Esq. being present, publicly declared that he 
would not accept the consignment of said tea, nor 
have any thing to do with it ; and Captain Norman 
promised, that he would at his own expense reship 
said tea, and send it to Halifax. A committee was 
appointed to guard the tea, and see it sent off; who 
reported that it was shipped on board another ves- 
sel : and that they saw the vessel with the tea on 
board outside of Fort-Point. 

On the 10th of October, the town ^^ voted to give 
two hundred pounds for the relief of the industrious 
poor of the towns of Boston and Charlestown, under 
the oppression, that they now suffer, from the port 
of Boston being blocked up by an act of the British 
Parliament." 

A very numerous committee was chosen to keep 
up the good order and quiet of the town, and to 
examine into every matter, that may appear un- 
friendly to the interest of the community. 

Governor Wentvvorth retained his popularity as 
extensively as possible for a person of his situation, 
which was extremely critical — for he was placed 
between two contending parties, of opposite inter- 
ests, and it could not be expected that he would 
please both. His wishes were to preserve the union 
of the two countries. He was attached to his gov- 
ernment, and was desirous of promoting its welfare 
as far as he could consistently with his duty to the 
King, which he considered paramount to all other 



246 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

obligations. A circumstance took place, which les- 
sened him in the estimation of the people. The 
troops at Boston were destitute of barracks, and the 
carpenters there refused assistance in building them. 
General Gage applied to VVentworth to procure 
workmen, and he secretly employed an agent to 
hire carpenters to construct the barracks. As soon 
as it was known, his conduct was severely censured, 
and the committee of safety, of which his Uncle 
Hunking Wentworth, Esq. was chairman, declared 
that the person guilty of such conduct was " an 
enemy to the community.'' From this time his 
influence declined ; and he retained only the shad- 
ow of authority. The real power was transferred 
to the committee of safety ; and their orders were 
implicitly obeyed. 

The proceedings of the General Congress were 
published in every part of the country, and receiv- 
ed with approbation. They made a declaration of 
their rights, stated their grievances, and entered 
into an association, suspending all commercial inter- 
course with Great Britain, Ireland, and the West- 
Indies. When these proceedings were laid before 
this town, they voted unanimously, ^' That they did 
cordially accede to the just state of the rights and 
grievances of the British colonies, and of the meas- 
ures adopted and recommended by the American 
Continental Congress, for the restoration and estab- 
lishment of the former, and for the redress of the 
latter. They voted, ^< that the association strictly 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 247 

adhered to, would in their opinion, prove the most 
peaceable and successful method, for the removal of 
the distresses these colonies are labouring under, 
and the restoration of their violated rights ; there- 
fore they cheerfully adopted, and would punctually 
and religiously execute the same as far as in them 
lies." A committee of twenty-five persons was cho- 
sen, *^ to observe the conduct of all persons, touch- 
ing the association, that every person within the lim- 
its of their appointment, conform to the same ; and 
if any should be hardy enough to violate it, in such 
case the majority of the committee shall forthwith 
cause the truth of the case to be published in the Ga- 
zette, according to the recommendation of Congress." 
And " lest some, for sordid gain, should be tempted 
to violate the association, they recommended a non- 
consumption, as the best guard against any infraction 
of the nonimportation agreement." They bore 
^^ testimony against every species of gambling, and 
recommended industry and frugality to the inhabi- 
tants." 

Amongst other systems of economy, which were 
adopted, the regulation of funerals was one of the 
most important. They were usually attended with 
great expense, often beyond the ability of the sur- 
vivors of the family to meet. All the connexions 
were obliged to dress in a full suit of mourning ; 
enamelled rings were distributed to the near rela- 
tions ; gloves and rings were given to the pall-bear- 
ers and to the clergyman, who officiated at the grave. 



248 . ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

In many instancies escutcheons, with the family 
armorial bearings painted on silk, were laid on the 
coffin, placed over the door, and sent to the particu- 
lar friends of the deceased. By general consent 
these expenses were dispensed with, and instead of 
them, gentlemen wore black crape round the left 
arm, and ladies, black ribbons, as badges of mourn- 
ing. 

An order had been passed by the King in Coun- 
cil, prohibiting the exportation of gun-powder and 
military stores to America. The committee of safe- 
ty received a copy of it by express from Boston, 
the 13th of December. They collected a com])any 
with great secrecy and dispatch, who went to Fort 
William and Mary at New-Castle, under the direc- 
tion of Major John Sullivan and Captain John Lang- 
don, confined the Captain of the fort, and his five 
men, and brought off one hundred barrels of gun- 
powder. The next day another company brought 
off fifteen of the lightest cannon, all the small arms, 
and some warlike stores. 

The Corporation of Harvard College made choice 
of the Rev. Doctor Langdon, as President of that 
institution. After due consideration, and by advice 
of his friends, he accepted the appointment. His 
parish was strongly attached to him, and consented 
to the separation very reluctantly. The connexion 
between them was dissolved, on the ninth of Octo- 
ber. He was born in Boston in 1722, of respecta- 
ble parents, though not opulent. He discovered 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. ^49 

early marks of genius, which he improved by dili- 
gent application to study, while a pupil in the nortli 
grammar-school, where he laid the foundation of his 
future learning. His amiable disposition procured 
him many friends, who assisted him in obtaining an 
education at Harvard College, where he was graduat- 
ed in 1740, with a high reputation as a scholar. He 
came to this town soon after, and had the charge of 
the grammar-school. His government and disci- 
pline in school were severe, but as the children 
improved under his instruction, he very generally 
met the approbation of their parents. In 1745, he 
was appointed Chaplain of Colonel Meserve's regi- 
ment, and was present at the capture of Louisburg; 
after his return, he was invited to preach at the 
north parish, as assistant to Mr. Fitch, whom he suc- 
ceeded in the ministry in the year 1747. He 
protracted a map of New-Hampshire, in company 
with Colonel Blanchard, which they published in 
1761, and inscribed it to the honourable Charles 
Townsend, Secretary at war. In return for this 
compliment, the Secretary obtained for Mr. Lang- 
don a degree of Doctor in Divinity, from the Uni- 
versity of Aberdeen, in Scotland. On the formation 
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 
Massachusetts, he became a member. Doctor Lang- 
don's publications are numerous. A thanksgiving 
sermon, preached at his own parish in 1759, on the 
anniversary of the birth day of his Majesty King 
George the 2d, entitled Joy and gratitude to God 
32 



250 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

for the long life of a good King, and the conquest of 
Quebec, from the 21st psalm, is said " to be one of the 
best occasional discourses extant.^' Doctor Langdon 
professed to be a Trinitarian, and a Calvinist, in his 
religious sentiments. In politics, he was zealously 
attached to the cause of his country. 

Doctor Langdon's situation at Cambridge soon be- 
came unpleasant. Some of the most respectable offi- 
cers of that institution conceived a strong prejudice 
against him, and he was not treated with that re- 
spect, which his character deserved. He resigned 
his office in 1780, and the following January, was 
installed over the church at Hamptonfalls ; where 
he spent the residue of his days in usefulness and 
peace ; a blessing to the people of his charge, and 
happy in the enjoyment of their affection and re- 
spect. 

1775. 

A convention was holden at Exeter, on the 25th 
of January, to which this town sent seven deputies 
for the purpose of choosing delegates to the General 
Congress, which was to meet at Philadelphia the 
lOih of May. 

The Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, at 
February term, at the request of the selectmen, 
laid out a highway to the ferry, through land of 
John Uindge, Esquire, at the north end, twenty-five 
feet wide ; and awarded him the sum of seventy 
pounds for the same. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 251 

The British troops commenced hostilities, by fir- 
ing on the people, collected at Lexington, in Mas- 
sachusetts, the 19th of April. The news of this 
attack spread rapidly through the country. This 
town met on the 20th to consider what measures are 
most expedient to be taken at this alarming crisis. 
They recommended every man to furnish himself 
with a good firelock, bayonet, powder, and balls, 
and every other requisite for defence ; that they 
form themselves into companies, and obtain what 
instruction they can in the military art ; that one 
hundred men be enlisted, and properly equipped to 
march at a minute's warning; that they divide 
themselves into two companies of fifty men each, 
choose their own officers, and enter into such agree- 
ments, as that the strictest subordination and disci- 
pline be preserved among them. They then chose 
a committee to consult with the provincial commit- 
tee, and adopt such measures as they shall judge 
necessary. They voted to use their utmost endeav- 
ours to keep up good order and peace in the town ; 
to support all civil officers, and pay ready obedience 
to the law, to avoid the horror and confusion, 
which a contrary conduct may produce. And as 
groundless reports and false rumours had prevailed, 
that the person or property of his Excellency John 
Wentworth was in danger, it was unanimously vot- 
ed, " that we, the inhabitants of this town, will use 
our utmost endeavours to prevent any insult being 
offered to his person or dignity, and that we will take 



252 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

every method in our power, to assist and support 
him in the due and legal exercise of his authority.'' 
A committee was chosen to wait upon the Governor 
with the above vote. 

Governor Wentworth still retained the hope, that 
all difficulties between the two countries might be 
adjusted ; and in his speech to the Assembly on the 
4th of May, he desired them to adopt " such meas- 
ures as might tend to secure their peace and safety, 
and effectually lead to a restoration of the public 
tranquillity, and an afTeetionate reconciliation with 
the mother country." He laid before them Lord 
North's conciliatory proposition. The House re- 
quested a short adjournment to give them an oppor- 
tunity to consult their constituents, to which the 
Governor consented, and adjourned them to the 12th 
of June. 

The Scarborough, ship of war, commanded by Cap- 
tain Barclay, lay in the harbour, and had dismantled 
the fort. She seized two vessels laden with pro- 
visions, which were coming into the harbour. The 
inhabitants remonstrated against this proceeding, and 
the Governor solicited Captain Barclay to release 
them, but he refused, and sent them to Boston, un- 
der convoy of the Canscau, for the use of the King's 
forces there. A body of armed men irritated by 
these proceedings, brought off from the battery at 
Jerry's point on Great-Island, twenty-eight cannon 
of twenty-four and thirty-two pounders, which they 
safely landed in this town. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 253 

A convention met at Exeter the 17th of May, 
chosen for six months, to which this town sent five 
deputies ; who were authorized to adopt and pursue 
such measures, as may be judged most expedient, to 
preserve and restore the rights of the colonies. 
This convention gave instructions to the representa- 
tives, which were regarded as the advice of their 
constituents. 

The Assembly met, according to adjournment, on 
the 12th of June. The representatives were elected 
by virtue of writs, issued by the Sheriff to such towns 
as the Governor directed. Three new towns were 
called upon to send representatives, in which some 
of the Governor's particular friends resided, who 
would probably be elected, whilst other towns more 
numerous, were neglected. The first act of the 
Assembly was to expel the members from the three 
new towns, agreeable to the advice of the conven- 
tion. Upon which, the Governor adjourned the 
Assembly to the 11th of July. One of the new 
members was Captain John Fenton, who was return- 
ed from the town of Plymouth. He had been a 
Captain in the British army, but had disposed of his 
commission. On the division of the province into 
counties, he was appointed Clerk of the Inferior 
Court of Common Pleas for the county of Grafton, 
and Judge of Probate for that county ; he kept his 
ofiice and resided in this town. After his expul- 
sion, he gave vent to his passions, and expressed 
himself very freely as to the measures, pursued by 



254 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the country. This enraged the populace, who col- 
lected to assault him, and he fled to the Governor's 
house for protection. They brought a field-piece, 
mounted, and placed it before the door, and threat- 
ened to discharge it, if he were not delivered up. 
Fenton surrendered, and was sent to the committee 
of safety at Exeter, for trial. The Governor con- 
ceived this to be an insult offered to himself, and 
immediately took refuge in the fort. 

Captain Barclay continued the practice of seizing 
all vessels, entering the harbour, and sending them 
to Boston. He likewise stopped all boats from go- 
ing out of the river to take fish, under pretence 
that his orders to execute the act, restraining trade, 
required it. In retaliation his boats were not per- 
mitted to come up to town for provisions, and one of 
them was fired upon by the guard, placed near the 
shore ; the boat returned the fire, and several shot 
were exchanged without damage on either side. 
The town passed a vote, disapproving the action, 
and sent a copy of it to Captain Barclay. 

Governor Wentworth sent a message from the fort 
to the Assembly on the llth of July, and adjourned 
them to the 28th of September. On the 24th of 
August, he took passage in the Scarborough for 
Boston. 

After the departure of the ships of war from the 
harbour, the convention appointed Major Ezekiel 
Worthen, engineer ; and under his direction, the 
people formed themselves into volunteer companies^ 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 255 

in which almost every individual took a part; 
they built two forts on two islands at the narrows, 
which commanded the channel, and planted there 
the cannon, which had been taken from the fort and 
battery. 

Governor Wentworth came to the Isles-of- Shoals^ 
and prorogued the General Assembly to the month 
of April. This was his last official act within the 
province; and the royal government in New-Hamp- 
shire entirely ceased. Governor Wentworth was 
educated at Harvard College, and was graduated in 
the year 1755. He was distinguished for the bril- 
liancy of his talents, a good classical taste in litera- 
ture, and for those amiable qualities, which gained 
him the esteem of all who knew him. He spent some 
time in his father's compting house, after he left 
College, to obtain an insight into mercantile busi- 
ness, and then went to London, where he resided 
several years, and until he was appointed Governor 
of the province. He received the degree of Doctor 
of Laws from the Universities of Oxford in England, 
and Aberdeen in Scotland. He was the friend of 
learning and of learned men. Dartmouth College was 
established during his administration, and flourished 
under his patronage. His constant endeavour was 
to promote the interest of the province, and through 
his influence its settlements rapidly increased. He 
did all in his power to preserve the union between 
this country and Great Britain, but was obliged to 
yield to the spirit of the times, and submit to a sep~ 



256 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

aration. The Rev. Doctor Dwight, in his travels^ 
says, •< Governor Wentworth was the greatest ben- 
efactor to the province of New- Hampshire, men- 
tioned in its history. He was a man of sound 
understanding, refined taste, enlarged views, and a 
dignified spirit. His manners also were elegant, 
and his disposition enterprising. Agriculture in 
this province, owed more to him, than to any other 
man. He also originated the formation of new 
roads, and the improvement of old ones. All these 
circumstances rendered him very popular; and he 
would probably have continued to increase his rep- 
utation, had he not been prevented by the contro- 
versy between Great Britain and the colonies. As 
the case was, he retired from the chair with an un- 
impeachable character, and with higher reputation 
than any other man, who at that time held the same 
oflice in this country." Soon after he left this 
province, he went to England, and was there creat- 
ed a Baronet, and was appointed Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor of the British province of New-Brunswick. 

October 18th. Several British armed vessels, 
commanded by Captain Mowat, set fire to, and 
partly consumed the town of Falmouth. It was 
expected that they would proceed to this town for 
a similar purpose. The inhabitants were in con- 
tinual alarm for several days. A violent storm, 
prevented the ships from going to sea. Sunday 
morning the 22d, the wind changed, and the 
weather became pleasant. Every thing in town 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 257 

was in the greatest confusion. A great number of 
teams from the neighbouring towns, came to the as- 
sistance of the inhabitants, who generally sent their 
goods and furniture to a distance for security ; and 
many, not thinking themselves safe here, removed 
their families into the country, and remained there 
till the spring. Brigadier General Sullivan was 
sent by General Washington, to take command of 
the militia, and defend the harbour. 

The provincial convention at Exeter determined 
that the public offices, which had always been kept 
in this town, should be removed to Exeter, as a 
place of greater security. They appointed Ebene- 
zer Thompson, Secretary, instead of Theodore At- 
kinson, Samuel Brooks, Recorder of Deeds, and 
Nicholas Gilman, Treasurer, instead of George Jaf- 
frey. 

The convention just before the expiration of their 
term, issued writs to the several towns in the prov- 
ince, to send representatives to a provincial Con- 
gress, which was to meet at Exeter on the 21st of 
December. The members were chosen for one 
year, and authorized to transact such business, and 
pursue sueh measures, as they should judge necessa- 
ry for the public good, and to resolve themselves 
into a House of Representatives, if such a form of 
government should be recommended by the General 
Congress. This town sent three representatives. 

The number of inhabitants in this town were com- 
puted at four thousand, five hundred and ninety. 
33 



238 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

The war put at end to all commercial intercourse 
with Great Britain and its dependencies, with whom 
the trade of this town had been almost exclusively 
carried on. Lumber, beef, fish, oil, and live stock, 
were the principal exports, and these were general- 
ly sent to the British West-India islands ; and in 
return, rum, sugar, molasses, and coffee, were 
brought back. Ship building was carried on ex- 
tensively on the several branches of the river, fop 
merchants in this town, who paid the builders prin- 
cipally in goods. The ships were sent to the West- 
Indies, their cargoes disposed of, and the proceeds 
remitted here in smaller vessels. A cargo of sugar 
was sent on freight in the same ships to England, 
where they were sold, and the proceeds, with the 
freight money, were paid to the merchants there for 
cordage, anchors, canvas, and other goods, which 
they had advanced on credit the preceding year. 
Some merchants in this town built and sent off ia 
this manner, ten or twelve, and in one instance, 
thirteen ships in a year. They were usually from 
two to three hundred tons burthen. This was prof- 
itable business, and left, at the commencement of 
the war, a large balance due to the merchants in 
Portsmouth. Considerable trade was carried on 
with the southern provinces, where corn, rice, flour, 
pork, and naval stores, were received in exchange 
for West-India goods. 

In all the royal grants of land, the pine-trees of cer- 
tain dimensions were reserved for the use of the navy. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 259 

Agents were employed to procure these trees to be 
roughly formed into masts and spars, and delivered 
here, ready for shipping ; government sent ships to 
transport them to the places, where they were want- 
ed. Several of these mast-ships have been laden 
here in a year. The agents made large fortunes by 
this business ; but the labourers, who felled the 
trees, and brought them ^to market, were always 
poor and dependant. Husbandry was much neg- 
lected by those, who followed the lumber trade. 
Corn and pork were not raised in sufficient quanti- 
ties for the consumption of the country. Tliese 
articles were imported from Connecticut, and other 
southern ports. 

No manufactories of any importance had been 
established in this town. Works for refining sugar, 
and a brewery were set up, but they did not suc- 
ceed. There were three ropewalks, but these were 
insufficient to the demand for cordage. Four or 
five tan yards supplied the town with leather, but 
very small quantities of it were exported. The 
saw-mill, erected by Mr. Cutt at the head of Isling- 
ton-Creek, was taken down, after the timber in the 
neighbourhood had been cut away. The grist-mill 
was suffered to decay, after Mr. Livius built his 
mills at the entrance of the creek. 

About the beginning of the eighteenth century, 
Mr. John Pray erected a wind-mill on the hill, op- 
posite to the place where the gaol now stands, which 
was afterwards called wind-mill hill. It stood near- 
ly fifty years. 



260 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

A ship, or brig was loaded early in the season 
every year at the Isles-of-Shoals for the Bilboa 
market, with fish of a superior quality, caught in 
the months of December, January, and February in 
the open sea, several leagues from the coast. This 
species of fish is very distinctly marked — The backs 
are of a grey colour, the bellies, white ; it ap- 
pears only in the winter months, and does not mix 
with other species of the codfish ; its shape is also 
different. Of this kind or species of fish, is pre- 
pared the dumb or dun fisli, for which the Isles- 
of-Shoals have been so long celebrated. It is 
not fit for use, till the month of August, when, 
after undergoing a fermentation, it changes its co- 
lour, and assumes an earthy hue ; at which time 
it is sold for double the price of other fish. It is a 
singular fact, or supposed fact, that the different 
species of codfish, keep in separate shoals ; so that 
a good judge of fish can, on inspection, say with 
considerable accuracy that this fish was caught in 
shore near the rocks ; that on Cashees-Ledge — This 
at Cape Sables, and another sort, at New-Foundland 
banks ; but why this excellent fish should visit our 
cold coast in winter, whether in search of smaller 
fish, or for feeding on the sea-grass, it is difficult to 
determine. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 261 

1776. 

Matthew Livermore was born at Water town, in 
Massachusetts, the 14th of January, 1703, and was 
educated at Harvard College, where he was gradu- 
ated in 1722. The selectmen had applied to the 
officers of the College, to send them a young gradu- 
ate, qualified to teach a grammar-school, who was 
willing to engage in that business, for ten years. 
They recommended Mr. Livermore, who came here 
in 1724, but stated to the selectmen his intention of 
studying law, and reserved liberty to quit the school 
as soon as he was qualified for admission to the bar. 
He continued to instruct the school seven years, and 
was sworn as an attorney at law, in 1731. There 
was at that time no regularly educated lawyer in 
this town, and soon after Mr. Livermore's admission. 
Governor Belcher appointed him Attorney-General 
for the province, and Advocate for the King in the 
Courts of Admiralty. This office was very lucra- 
tive, and Mr. Livermore stjated to the Governor, 
that he would not accept the office of Attorney- 
General, which was vexatious and unprofitable, 
unless he could likewise be appointed Advocate. 
His sensibility was much excited, when in the 
course of his official duties, he was instrumental in 
procuring the capital punishment of any of his fel- 
low creatures ; and during his practice, he was three 
times called to discharge this painful task. He was 
correct in his practice, and faithful to his clients. 



262 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

He regarded the profession, as honourable and use- 
ful, but more exposed than many others to powerful 
seductions from the paths of moral rectitude. He 
was serious in his deportment, exemplary in his 
conduct, and firm in his belief of the truths of the 
gospel. His infirmities, both of body and mind, 
disqualified him from attending to any business sev- 
eral years before his death, which took place on 
the 14th of February, the present year. 

The provincial Congress adopted a form of gov- 
ernment, in which the legislative and executive 
powers were vested in a Council and House of Rep- 
resentatives. Notwithstanding they were author- 
ised to take this step by their several constituents, 
a number of persons here, alarmed at this pro- 
ceeding, procured a meeting to be called, and re- 
monstrated against their establishing any government 
at present, lest it should be construed as a design to 
throw off their allegiance to Great Britain, and be- 
come independent, and they should thereby forfeit 
the friendship of those, who had espoused the Amer- 
ican cause in England. 

The Raliegh, a frigate, pierced for 32 guns, was 
launched here on the 21st day of May. She was 
built at the north end on Rindge's wharf, under the 
inspection of Thomas Thompson, Esq. by Messrs. 
Hackett, Hill, and Paul, master builders, and her hull 
was completed in sixty days after her keel was 
laid. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 263 

On the 4th of July, Congress published the dec- 
claration of Independence ; which was received in 
this town with lively expressions of joy, notwith- 
standing their former votes. It w^as publicly pro- 
claimed here on the 18th. 

Since Doctor Langdon left the north parish, the 
desk had been supplied by various persons. This 
year they invited the Rev. David Mc'Clure to 
settle with them as their pastor, but as there was 
considerable division in the parish, he declined 
accepting the invitation, 

1777. 

The Rev. Ezra Stiles, D. D. pastor of a church 
at Newport, had been obliged to leave his people, 
when the British troops took possession of that 
place. The north parish requested him to supply 
their desk, and carry on the work of the ministry 
with them, which he agreed to do for one year, 
unless he should be able to return to his people at 
Newport before the expiration of that term, He 
preached his first sermon here the 6th of April, and 
removed his family to this place in May follow- 
ing. The parish had procured a house for their 
accommodation, and received them with " kindness 
and hospitality." 

On the 2d of June, towards the close of the day, 
heavy showers of rain arose, attended with thunder 
.ind lightning. Mrs. Catherine Clark, who lived at 



264 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the north end of the town, went to a window, 
which she opened, to observe the motion of the 
clouds, and was struck with a flash of lightning, 
which instantly killed her. 

July 17th. The General Court divided the whole 
militia of the state into two brigades ; and gave the 
command of the first to William Whipple, and of 
the second, to John Stark. In the month of August, 
Brigadier General Whipple marched with a great 
part of his brigade, and a large number of volun- 
teers to the northern army, to oppose Burgoyne. 
He surrendered soon after their arrival in camp, 
and General Whipple was selected as one of the 
officers to guard the captive troops to winter-hill 
near Boston, the place of their destination. 

Major Edward Sherburne, Aid de Camp to Gen- 
eral Sullivan, was killed in the attack made on the 
British army at Germantown, the 4th of October. 

The Ranger, of 18 guns, was built on Langdon's 
Island, by order of Congress, under the direction of 
Colonel James Hackett. 

1778. 

March 16th. The town determined to establish a 
hospital for inoculating persons with small-pox. A 
committee was appointed to apply to the committee 
of safety for leave to inoculate, which was granted. 
The Pest, Henzell's, and Salter's Islands, were fix- 
ed upon, as suitable places for the hospital. Regu- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 265 

lations were established for the government of it, 
and the whole was put under the care of a commit- 
tee, who were to give permission to the surgeons, 
or physicians, to inoculate. No person was allowed 
to visit the hospital without leave from the commit- 
tee, nor to be inoculated without a written license 
from them ; and previous to obtaining the license, 
he was obliged to deposit in the hands of the com- 
mittee a sum sufficient to defray all the expense. 
No person was allowed to leave the hospital in les» 
than twenty-one days after inoculation, nor until 
he had procured a certificate from his physician, 
that he was free from infection, and was thoroughly 
cleansed by a person, appointed for that purpose by 
the committee. The physicians were allowed eight 
dollars for each patient under their care, excepting 
every tenth person, who was a pauper sent by the 
committee, and who was inoculated and attended 
through the disorder gratis. There were two clas- 
ses carried through this disorder, containing about 
four hundred and twelve persons in all, at the ex- 
pense of sixteen dollars each. 

In the month of June, Nathaniel Adams and John 
Parker, jr. completed a survey of the town, and 
made a plan of it. At their request the town 
appointed a committee to name the streets, which 
was accordingly done, and the names entered on 
the plan. They presented the plan to the select- 
men for the use of the town, who placed it in Union 
Hall. 

34 



266 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

A detachment of militia under General Whipplej» 
accompanied by a larga number of volunteers from 
this town, joined General Sullivan in the invasion 
of Rhode-Island, which was in possession of th& 
British. 

Doctor Stiles had been elected President of Yale 
College in Connecticut, of which he received offi- 
cial information the last autumn. Whilst he had 
this appointment under consideration, the north 
church and parish on the 27th of January, unani- 
mously invited him to settle with them in the work 
of the ministry. On the 18th of March, he informed 
the society, that he had concluded to accept the 
presidency, and should be obliged to quit them. 
About the middle of June, he took leave of his 
friends here, gratefully acknowledging the many 
favours and testimonies of their friendship and 
affection, and removed with his family to New- 
Haven. 

He was born at Nortli-Haven, in Connecticut, the 
10th of December, 1727, was educated at Yale 
College, and was graduated in 1746, and at that time, 
*^ he was esteemed one of the most perfect scholars, 
that had ever received the honours of that semina- 
ry." He was chosen a tutor in 1749, and having 
made some proficiency in the study of divinity, 
commenced preaching. He had a fine classical 
taste, and a familiar acquaintance with the latin 
language, which he wrote with great facility in a 
pure and elegant style. He was troubled with a 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 257 

hectic complaint, on which account he found preach- 
ing prejudicial to him. He therefore determined 
to quit that profession, and turned his attention to 
the law. He was admitted to the har in 1753, and 
continued in the practice of the law two years ; 
during which time he pursued his studies with un- 
remitted perseverance for the purpose of gaining an 
extensive knowledge of that science. In May 1755, 
the second church and congregation in Newport 
gave him an unanimous call to settle with them in 
the ministry, which, by the advice of his friends, he 
accepted. In 1765, he received the degree of Doc- 
tor in Divinity from the University of Edinburgh. 
He continued at Newport until his congregation 
were dispersed by the British taking possession of 
that place in 1776. The next spring he removed 
to this town. His great learning and eloquence, his 
easy and polite address made him very popular, and 
the people parted with him with great reluctance. 
He was an accomplished gentleman ; affable, mild, 
and pleasing in his manners, and entertaining in 
conversation ; his company was courted by all ranks 
and ages in society. '^ Doctor Stiles had every lit- 
erary honour, which his country could bestow upon 
him ; was a member of many learned societies abroad, 
and was the intimate friend and correspondent of 
the first characters in Europe and America." 

Doctor Stiles died at New-Haven, the I2th of 
May, 1795. 



268 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1779. 

After Doctor Stiles left the north parish, they 
invited Joseph Buckminster to settle with them in 
the ministry ; which invitation he accepted. He 
was ordained the 27th of January. 

Congress had recommended to the several states 
*^ to confiscate and make sale of all the real and per- 
sonal estates of such of their inhabitants, and other 
persons as had forfeited the same, and the right to 
the protection of their respective states ; and to 
invest the money, arising from the sales, in con- 
tinental loan certificates, to be appropriated as the 
respective states should direct." This subject came 
before the legislature of New-Hampshire in tho 
month of March, and they were proceeding to car- 
ry this recommendation into efiect. At the request 
of thirty very respectable inhabitants, a town-meet- 
ing was notified and very fully attended, as soon as it 
was understood that the General Court were about 
adopting this measure. The town remonstrated 
against it in the strongest terms. To shew the im- 
policy of the measure, they stated that the balance 
due from Great Britain to this state, was very large ; 
that the British government w^ould retain that bal- 
ance to the ruin of many worthy citizens, who re- 
mained among us j that the real estate belonging to 
British subjects was permanent, and increasing in 
value, and always under the controul of the state ; 
but wheji sold, the proceeds would be liable to em- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 269 

bezzleraent, or to be otherwise lost. With respect 
to the absentees, it was unjust to condemn them un- 
heard ; and to confiscate their property without a tri- 
al, was contrary to the principles of civil liberty, for 
which we were contending. The town instructed 
their representatives to use their influence against 
passing the act, or if it were already passed, to en- 
deavour to procure its repeal. 

The Honourable Theodore Atkinson departed 
this life on the 22d September, aged eighty-two 
years. He was the son of the Honourable Theo- 
dore Atkinson, was born at Nev/- Castle, December 
20th, 1697, and was educated at Harvard College, 
where he was graduated in 1718. Soon after he 
left college, he received a commission as Lieutenant 
at the fort, and in 1720 was appointed Clerk of the 
Court of Common Pleas, which oflice he held seve- 
ral years, and during that time, made himself ac- 
quainted with the forms of legal proceedings, and 
was afterwards admitted to practice, as an Attorney 
at law. Before he was thirty years of age, he was 
sent to Canada, as one of the commissioners to pro- 
cure the release of the prisoners, and to remonstrate 
with the Governor of that province, against his 
exciting the Indians to war. For many years he 
had the command of the first regiment of militia in 
the province, and was several times called into actu- 
al service, during the war with the French and 
Indians. He held the offices of Collector of the 
Customs; Naval Ofiicer and Sheriff of the province. 



270 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

In 1734, he was admitted to a seat in the Council, 
and in 1741, was appointed Secretary of the prov- 
ince ; which office he resigned after several years, 
in favour of his son, who succeeded him. He was 
one of the delegates to the Congress, which met at 
Albany in June 1754. Immediately on his return, 
he was appointed Chief Justice of the Superior 
Court of Judicature, and after the death of his son 
in 1769, was reappointed Secretary of the prov- 
ince ; and continued to exercise these offices until 
the revolution. Colonel Atkinson was a person of 
intelligence and lively imagination ; he was remark- 
ably fond of wit and repartee, and on this account 
encouraged a familiarity with persons of the same 
habits and disposition, notwithstanding a difference 
in rank or station in life, or a dissimilarity in other 
respects. This induced him to take a person named 
Joseph Moses with him as a waiter, when he was sent 
as Commissary to the army ; he knew very well that 
Moses would not be obsequious as a servant, but would 
afford hira amusement by his wit. Captain John 
Chamberlain, the representative from Merrimack, 
was of this character ; Colonel Atkinson once asked 
him what had been done with a certain act which 
had been sent down from the Council ; Chamberlain 
told him, that there were objections to it in the 
» House, and that it would not pass. Atkinson said 
<< I wish you were all in Heaven." Chamberlain 
replied, I should have no objection, only that it 
would be an eternal separation from the honourable 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. ^71 

his Majesty's Council. In his last will he gave a 
legacy of two hundred pounds sterling to the Epis- 
copal church in this town, the interest of which he 
ordered to be expended in bread, which was to be 
distributed on Sunday to the poor of the parish. 

1780. 

The 19th day of May was remarkable for its un- 
common darkness. The morning was cloudy, at- 
tended with a little rain. Between ten and eleven 
o'clock the darkness increased, and began to assume 
the appearance of evening. Fowls went to roost, 
and cattle collected round the barn-yards, as at the 
approach of night. Before noon it became so dark, 
as to be difficult to read without a candle ; and 
lights were necessary at dinner, and to transact the 
ordinary work of a family through the afternoon. 
The evening was enveloped in total darkness ; the 
sky could not be distinguished from the ground. 
The clouds began to separate, and the vapours to 
disperse a little before midnight, and some glimmer- 
ings of light appeared. The next morning was 
cloudy, but not unusually dark. 

For several weeks previous there had been exten- 
sive fires in the woods, and the westerly wind had 
driven the smoke and cinders, with which the air 
was charged, all over the country. On the morning 
of the 19th, the wind came in various directions, 
but principally from the eastward^ and brought with 



272 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

it a thick fog ; these counter currents meeting, stop- 
ped the progress of the clouds, and formed different 
strata of them ; and as light is always reflected from 
the surface, they became more impervious to it, 
than a more dense cloud, which presents only one 
surface. The atmosphere was likewise filled with 
clouds of smoke and cinders, as well as with vapour, 
which gave them a dirty yellowish hue. Pieces of 
burnt leaves were continually falling, and ^' the rain 
water was covered with a sooty scum/' The dark- 
ness extended throughout New-England, and was 
observed several leagues at sea. 

1781. 

The Honourable William Parker departed this 
life April 29th, aged seventy-seven. He was born 
in this town in the year 1703, received the rudi- 
ments of his education in one of the public schools, 
and, at the age of fifteen, became an apprentice to 
his father, who was a tanner. He made himself 
thoroughly acquainted with that business, but re- 
linquished it soon after he came of age, and was 
employed for several years as master of one of the 
public schools. In his leisure hours he pursued 
the study of the law, and was admitted to the bar 
in the year 1732. When the commissioners met at 
Hampton in 1737, to settle the line between this 
province and Massachusetts, they appointed him 
their Clerk. He afterwards received a commission 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 273 

from Governor Belcher to be Register of Probate, 
and his knowledge of the law, enabled hira to dis- 
charge the duties of that ofiice with great ability. 
He was also appointed Surrogate Judge of Admiral- 
ty, and was for many years, the only notary public 
in the province. In 1765, he was elected one of 
the representatives to the General Assembly, and 
was reelected every year afterwards until 1774. In 
August 1771, he received a commission, appointing 
him one of the Justices of the Superior Court of 
Judicature, for the province ; which office he held 
until the commencement of the revolution, when 
the royal authority ceased here, and all who held 
offices under the King, were obliged to relinquish 
them. Judge Parker was esteemed a well read and 
accurate lawyer ; he had diligently studied the law, 
not only as a profession, but as a science. While at 
the bar he was consulted and his advice relied on in 
the most important cases, which came before the 
Courts. But his studies were not confined entirely 
to the law. He gave much of his attention to clas- 
sical literature, and the belles-lettres, in which he 
made great proficiency. In 1763, the corporation 
of Harvard College, conferred on him the degree of 
Master of Arts, and in their vote, they direct it to 
be expressly mentioned in his diploma '^^ pro meriiis 
suisy although he never had a public education." 
In his diploma it is expressed <^ licet non Academise 
instructum, Generosura, nihil ominus in rebus litera- 
riis scil : Classicis Philosophicis, &c. egregie erudi- 
35 



274 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTlt. 

turn." He became very early a professor of reli- 
gion, and was admitted a member of the north 
church, of which he was afterwards one of the dea- 
cons. 

On the 15th of March about noon, the town was 
alarmed by the cry of fire ; which broke out in the 
barn of Nathaniel Treadwell, situated on Fetter- 
lane. It was kindled by some children, who were 
playing with fire in the barn. The flames commu- 
nicated to Mr. Treadwell's house, which was entire- 
ly consumed. From his house they extended across 
the lane, to the gaol which stood at the corner of 
Prison and Fetter-lane, which was likewise consum- 
ed. The stable, wood-house, and other buildings of 
the honourable Woodbury Langdon, which stood 
near the gaol, took fire, and together with his dwel- 
ling house, were laid in ashes. The gaol, being 
built of oak timber, made the fire intensely hot ; 
and it was with difficulty, that the engine men could 
support the heat a few minutes at a time, to prevent 
Colonel Whipple's house from taking fire. But 
being frequently relieved, they kept a continual 
stream of water pouring on the end of the house 
next to the gaol, and by that means arrested its pro- 
gress. 

1782. 

March 25th. The town gave permission to the 
Physicians, Ammi R. Cutter, Joshua Bracket, Hall 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 275 

Jackson, and John Jackson, to open a hospital 
on Henzell's Island, under such rules and regula- 
tions as shall secure the town from danger, provided 
said hospital shall be no expense to the town. 

On the 3d of June the town remonstrated against 
the act passed at the last session of the General 
Court, for confiscating the estates of British subjects 
and absentees, as impolitic and unjust; and instruct- 
ed their representatives to use their most strenuous 
endeavours to obtain its repeal. 

The gentlemen of the town, upon the recommen- 
dation of the General Assembly, appointed Thurs- 
day the 20th of June, for the celebration of the 
birth of the Dauphin of France ; as a compliment 
to his most Christian Majesty, the great Ally of the 
United States. The day was ushered in by the 
nnging of bells, and display of colours. At noon, a 
salute was fired from the forts, and answered by the 
batteries in town. A large collection of gentlemen 
partook of a cold collation at the State-house, an^ 
drank some suitable toasts, prepared for the occa- 
sion, which were accompanied by the discharge of 
cannon. At sunset the salutes were repeated by 
the forts and batteries. In the evening the ship 
America, then on the stocks, was beautifully deco- 
rated and illuminated ; various kinds of fire-works 
were displayed, and every method was adopted to 
express the joy of the inhabitants on this auspicious 
event. 



S76 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH 

The ship America, pierced for 74 guns, was 
launched on Tuesday the 5th day of November, at 
Rising- Castle, an island belonging to the honourable 
John Langdon, who was the agent for building her. 
She moved majestically on her ways to her destined 
element, without any accident, amidst the .rejoicings 
of an immense number of spectators, who lined the 
shores ; this ship does great credit to Colonel James 
Hackett, the master builder, and the other workmen 
employed in constructing her. Congress, finding it 
difficult to procure materials for completing her 
for sea, made a present of her to the King of 
France. 

On Thursday night, the 7th of November, a vio- 
lent thunder storm arose, which did considerable 
damage. The lightning struck the Auguste, an 80 
gun ship, belonging to the King of France, then 
lying in this harbour, commanded by Admiral the 
Count Vaudreuil, which entirely disabled her fore- 
mast, greatly injured her forecastle and decks, kil- 
led four men, and wounded five others. 

1783. 

The provisional articles of peace, between the 
United States and his Britanic Majesty, had been 
ratified by Congress ; who directed that they should 
be made public, by the supreme executive power of 
the several states. The President and committee of 
safety of this state appointed Monday the 28th day 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 277 

of April, for proclaiming the same. The day was 
ushered in by the ringing of bells. At six o'clock 
salutes of thirteen guns were fired at the fortj at 
Liberty-Bridge, and at Church-hill, to which his 
r(iost Christian Majesty's ship, the America, re- 
sponded in joyful harmony. At ten o'clock reli- 
gious services were performed in the north meeting- 
house, before a crowded audience. After a sublime 
anthem was sung by a select choir, the Rev. Doctor 
Haven addressed the throne of grace in the most 
pathetic strains of gratitude for all the mercies be- 
stowed upon this infant nation, for supporting us 
through a long and distressing war, and for the 
happy termination of it in our independence. An- 
other anthem was performed, and the Rev. Mr. 
Buckminster made the concluding prayer in a style 
of grateful eloquence, suitable to the solemn but 
joyful occasion. The services were closed by sing- 
ing another anthem. 

At noon the President of the State, attended by 
several officers of government, and a number of 
respectable gentlemen proceeded to the State-house, 
where the proclamation was read by the Sheriff of 
Rockingham, from the balcony to a large concourse 
of people, assembled on the parade, who heard it 
with the most lively demonstrations of joy. An ele- 
gant dinner was provided at the Assembly-room, at 
which the President, all strangers of distinction, 
and nearly one hundred gentlemen of the town 
were present. Several other gentlemen partook of 



278 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

a cold collation at the Council-chamber, and at 
both places a number of patriotic toasts were drunk. 
In the evening a splendid ball was given. The 
Assembly-room and State-house were beautifully 
illuminated, and fire-works were displayed in a su- 
perior style. 

1784. 

A number of persons, who had embraced the 
doctrine of universal salvation, frequently met foi* 
mutual instruction. This year they formed a socie- 
ty, and Mr. Noah Parker began his religious minis- 
trations. They met at first in the house, which had 
been built for the Sandemanians. The society after- 
wards purchased a lot in Vaughan-street, and erected 
a meeting-house there. Mr. John Murray, of Bos- 
ton, first preached the doctrine of universal salva- 
tion in this town about the commencement of the 
revolutionary war. 

Friday, November 26. A violent storm of rain 
Qoramenced in the night, and continued until noon. 
The wind blew strongly from the southeast, and 
forced in the tide from the sea, which being met by 
a great freshet, swelled the river higher, than it 
was ever known to rise before, and caused great 
damage to the wharves and the warehouses, which 
stood on them. The water flowed into several of 
them and destroyed considerable property. Th« 
wood and lumber which lay on the wharves were 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 279 

generally swept away ; but what is more extraor- 
linary, a large warehouse which stood on Boyd^'s 
vharf, was launched from the wharf, and floated 
icross the creek to the opposite shore. 

Wiseman Clagett, Esq. was born at Bristol, in 
England, in the month of August, 1721, and receiv- 
!d an early and liberal education in that country, 
laving finished his academical studies, he became a 
tudent at the Inns of Court, qualified himself for the 
)rofession of the law, and after going through a reg- 
ilar course of preparatory studies, was admitted a 
)arrister in the Court of King's Bench. A few years 
ifter his admission to the bar, he crossed the Atlan- 
ic to the West-Indies ; settled in Antigua under 
^ery flattering circumstances, and was cordially re- 
:eived by the principal inhabitants of the island, 
particularly by a gentleman of fortune, who as an 
nducement for him to remain there, settled on him 
L handsome annuity for life. He was appointed a 
lotary public, and Secretary of the island. He 
lischarged the duties of these offices with fidelity, 
ind pursued his professional business there with 
success for several years, until the decease of his 
)articular friend, and generous patron. He then 
embarked for this country, and settled in this town. 
3e was admitted an attorney of the Superior Court 
it the next session after his arrival, and was soon 
ifterwards appointed a Justice of the Peace. In 
he exercise of this office he was strict, severe, and 
)verbearing. For many years he was the princi- 



280 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

pal acting magistrate here, and his name became 
proverbial. When one person threatened another . 
with a prosecution, it was usual to say, ^^ I will Clag- 
ctt you." He received the appointment of King's 
Attorney-General for the province the year 1767. 
He took a very early and decided part in opposition 
to the oppressive acts of the British Parliament, at 
a time when a considerable portion of his property, 
was within the control of government. Previous 
to the revolution, he removed to Litchfield, where 
he possessed a large and valuable estate, on the 
banks of the Merrimack. He represented that 
town and some of the neighbouring towns, classed 
with it, several years in the General Court. Being 
omitted one year, the towns of Merrimack and Bed- 
ford elected him their representative, although not 
an inhabitant of either of those places. He always 
entertained a grateful remembrance of this mark 
of confidence and respect, and frequently spoke of 
it with pleasure. He was for some time a member 
of the committee of safety, and was active, atten- 
tive and useful. He was influential in framing and 
carrying into effect, the temporary form of govern- 
ment, which was first adopted in New-Hampshire, 
under which the oflice of Solicitor-General was cre- 
ated, and Mr. Clagett was the only person, who 
ever had that appointment ; the office ceased at the 
adoption of the constitution in 1784, a little pre- 
vious to his death. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 281 

He possessed a great flow of wit, which accompa- 
nied by his social talents and learning, made him 
an agreeable companion. He was also distinguish- 
ed for his classical knowledge. He wrote the Latin 
language with ease and elegance, and spoke it with 
fluency. A Latin epitaph in the burying ground 
at Litchfield on the grave-stone of his son, who was 
accidentally killed by the discharge of a fowling- 
piece, is a specimen of his writing. It contains 
some peculiar sentiments, which shew the eccentri- 
city of his genius. There is also a baptismal font 
in St. John's Church, with a Latin inscription writ- 
ten by him. — He had a fine taste for poetry, and 
many Jeux d'esprit, the productions of his pen, 
have been preserved by his friends. He did not 
possess a 'perfect equanimity of temper, but was 
subject at times to great depression of spirits. He 
died at Litchfield the 4th of December the present 
year, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. 

1785. 

Some persons are born at the time, when every 
faculty of the mind can be best brought into action ; 
when those talents, with which nature has furnished 
them, can be employed with advantage for the pub- 
lic good. This Was the case with the late General 
Whipple, who was born at Kittery in the year 
1730, and received his education in one of the pub- 
lic schools in that town, where he was taught read- 
36 



282 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ing, writing, arithmetic, and navigation. From 
school he went on board a merchantman, and was 
bred a sailor. Before the age of twenty-one, he 
had the command of a vessel, and in that capacity 
. performed many voyages to Europe and the West- 
Indies ; and, according to the practice which too 
generally prevailed in those days, was concerned in 
the slave trade, and imported negroes from Africa 
into this country. About the year 1759, he left the 
sea, and engaged in trade in this town, in company 
with his brother, under the firm of William and 
Joseph Whipple ; and continued this connexion in 
business until a short time previous to the revolu- 
tionary war, when he quitted all mercantile engage- 
ments. Mr. Whipple was possessed of a strong 
mind and quick discernment, was easy in his man- 
ners, courteous in his deportment, correct in his 
habits and constant in his friendships. He very 
early took a decided part in favour of his country 
in their disputes with Great Britain. His towns- 
men placed the highest confidence in his patriotism 
and integrity, and frequently elected him to offices, 
which required firmness and moderation. In the 
spring of 1775, he was elected a member of Con- 
gress, which was to meet at Philadelphia in May, 
and in the same year, was chosen a delegate to the 
provincial Congress, which assumed the government 
after the commencement of hostilities. He was 
likewise one of the committee of safety for the town, 
and for the state, and was one of the Council under 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 283 

the first form of state Government. In 1776, he 
was again elected a member of Congress, and took 
his seat in the month of February. At this session 
of that body, the declaration of independence was 
made, and the name of William Whipple, with 
those of the other illustrious signers of that instru- 
ment, will be handed down to posterity with every 
mark of gratitude and respect. 

General Whipple was several times called into 
service with detachments of his brigade, to oppose 
the British troops. He had with him, at the cap- 
ture of Burgoyne, a valuable negro servant, import, 
ed from Africa, named Prince. On his way to the 
army he said to his servant, ^* Should we be called 
into action, I hope you will behave yourself like a 
man of courage, and fight bravely for your coun- 
try." Prince replied, " Sir, I have no inducement 
to fight, but if I had my liberty, I would endeavour 
to defend it to the last drop of blood." The Gene- 
ral then said to him, <^ Prince, you shall have your 
freedom ; from this time you are your own man.'' — 
He was again elected a member of Congress, took 
his seat in the month of October, 1778, and was 
considered very useful and active. After his re- 
turn from Congress, he was repeatedly chosen a 
member of the Legislature of the state. About 
this time the General began to be troubled with 
strictures in the breast, which were at times very 
painful to him. A little exercise would bring on 
violent palpitations of the heart, which were very 



284 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

distressing. Riding on horseback often produced 
this effect, and sometimes caused him to faint. This 
complaint prevented his engaging in the active 
scenes of life, and induced him to resign his mil- 
itary command. On the 20th of June, 1782, he 
was appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of 
Judicature. A discerning mind, sound judgment, 
and integrity v^ere deemed essential qualifications, 
and these virtues General Whipple possessed. He 
continued on the bench about three years, but his 
disorder became more painful to him ; and in the 
fall of this year, he was obliged to leave the Court 
before the circuit was completed. He departed 
this life on the 10th day of November, in the fifty- 
fifth year of his age. By his special direction to 
his brother, Doctor Brackett, his body was opened, 
and it was found that an ossification had taken place 
in his heart ; the valve was united to the aorta, 
only a small aperture, the size of a large knitting 
needle, was open, through which all the blood flow- 
ed in its circulation ; and when any sudden motion 
gave it new impulse, it produced the palpitation 
and faintness, to which he was liable. 

General Whipple enjoyed through life a great 
share of public confidence, and although his early 
education was limited, his natural good sense, and 
accurate observation, enabled him to discharge the 
duties of the several oflSces, with which he was 
intrusted, with credit to himself and benefit to the. 
public. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 285 

The Honourable Mark Hunking Wentworth, fa- 
ther of Sir John Wentworth, and son of Liutenant 
Governor Wentworth, departed this life December 
19th. He was bred a merchant, was largely con- 
cerned in trade and navigation, had the agency of 
procuring masts and spars for the British navy, and 
by these various branches of business, amassed a 
large and splendid fortune. He was many years 
before the revolution, one of his Majesty's Council, 
and was one of the original purchasers of Mason's 
patent, and in all his transactions was influenced 
by the most correct and honourable motives. The 
Legislature of the state, confiscated the estate of 
Governor Wentworth, and put it under the direc- 
tion of trustees ; by whose bad management, a great 
part of it was lost. Confiscated estates were after- 
wards settled in the Probate Courts. His father's 
claim was presented, and proved by authentic vouch- 
ers before the Judge, but amounting to four times as 
much as those of all the other creditors, he gene- 
rously withdrew his claim, that every other person 
might be paid in full. His benevolence continually 
prompted him to acts of kindness and liberality. 
His charity was unbounded ; the poor and distress- 
ed always found in him a ready friend and bene- 
factor. 



286 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1786. 

His Excellency John Langdon rebuilt the bridge 
over the dock, commonly called Canoe-Bridge, and 
presented the same to the town. 

The Church service had not been regularly per- 
formed in Queen's-Chapel since the death of Mr. 
Brown in the year 1776. The Church had been 
shut up most of the time during this long period. 
The parish had employed a lay reader, who officiat- 
ed nearly a year. They now came to a determina- 
tion to settle another minister ; and in December 
gave an invitation to the Rev. John C. Ogden, which 
was accepted. He had been ordained by the Right 
Rev. Samuel Seabury, Bishop of Connecticut. 

On the 31st day of October, the proprietors of 
the social library, dissolved their society, sold their 
books at auction, and divided the proceeds. 

There was a general complaint in the country of 
the depressed situation of trade, which was suppos- 
ed to be owing to the great scarcity of money ; and 
the General Court proposed to remedy the evil, by 
emitting a paper currency. They submitted the 
plan, upon which they proposed to issue it, to the 
several towns in the state. This town was legally 
assembled on the 6th of November, and expressed 
an opinion that a paper medium, would increase the 
difficulties ; that it could not answer the purpose of 
trade ; that it would deprive this state of commerce, 
and drain it of its specie ; that the disproportion be- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 287 

tween a paper currency and specie, would always 
cause the former to depreciate ; that if the officers 
of government were obliged to receive their salaries 
in paper money, the highest offices would be filled 
by persons unworthy of the lowest ; that paper 
money always has promoted, and ever will promote 
corruption, and a multitude of other concomitant 
evils, and considering it either in a moral or politi- 
cal point of view, they heartily reprobated it 

1787. 

June. Daniel Fowle, Esq. died, aged seventy-two 
years. He was born at Charlestown in Massachu- 
setts, and served his apprenticeship with a printer 
in Boston, where he commenced business in 1740, 
and two years afterwards entered into partnership 
with Gamaliel Rogers. During this connexion, they 
published an edition of the New Testament ia 
12mo. ; the American Magazine, and a newspaper, 
entitled the Independent Advertizer. This part- 
nership was dissolved in 1750, and Fowle again 
carried on the printing business by himself. In. 
1754, he was arrested by virtue of a warrant, sign- 
ed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
on suspicion of having printed a pamphlet, entitled, 
'< The Monster of Monsters, by Tom Thumb, Esq." 
which contained some severe reflections on several 
ef the members. 



288 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH, 

After an examination before the House, they or- 
dered him to be committed to the common gaol, 
where he was detained two or three days, without 
permission to see his family or friends, and deprived 
of the use of pen, ink, and paper. He was greatly 
injured by this treatment, but could obtain no re- 
dress. He soon after wrote and published a par- 
ticular account of these arbitrary measures, in a 
pamphlet called ^» Total Eclipse of Liberty.'' He 
resolved to live no longer under a government, 
which had deprived him of his freedom, without 
adverting to the rules of law, and determined to 
embrace the first favourable opportunity to change 
his situation. Accordingly, having received encour- 
agement from several respectable inhabitants, he 
removed to this town in July, 1736, and set up 
his printing business here. This was the first es- 
tablishment of the kind ever made in the province. . 
He commenced the publication of the New-Hamp- 
shire Gazette the October following, which was 
continued, with some short interruptions, until his 
death. In 1764, he took his Nephew, Robert 
Fowle, into partnership, under the firm of Daniel 
and Robert Fowle. This connexion continued until 
1774, when a difference in political opinions caused 
their separation. Mr. Fowle did but little business, 
except printing the Newspaper, the state laws, and 
a few pamphlets. The Governor appointed him a 
Justice of the Peace, soon after his settlement here. 
" He was a correct printer, and industrious. In his 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. ^89 

isposition he was pacific, agreeable in his manners, 
beral in his sentiments, and attached to the cause 
f his country.'' 

He had a negro servant, named Primus, who was 
rought from Africa. This negro, although very 
literate, was a good pressman, and worked at the 
usiness in his master's office, until prevented by 
ge. He was upwards of ninety years old at the 
ime of his death. 

Mr. Noah Parker died on the 17th of August, 
reatly lamented, particularly by the society to 
rhom he preached. He was a native of this town, 
^as bred a black and white smith, and made himself 
rell acquainted with every branch of the business, 
articularly with those parts, which required most 
[igenuity to execute. 

Robert Metlin,* a native of Scotland, resided a 
umber of years in this town, and carried on the 
usiness of a baker. He was a very noted pedes- 
rian. He usually bought his flour in Boston, and 
Iways travelled there on foot : he performed the 
ourney in a day, the distance being then about six- 
y-six miles, made his purchases, put his flour on 
►oard a coaster, and returned home the next day. 
ie was eighty years of age the last time he per- 
brmed this journey. At that time this was thought 
in extraordinary day's journey for a horse. The 
tages required the greatest part of two days. Co- 
onel Atkinson, with a strong horse in a very light 
* Dr. Belknap calls him Macklin. 
37 



290 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

sulkey, once accomplished it in a day. He set out 
early in the morning, and before he reached Green- 
land, he overtook Metlin, and enquired where he 
was bound. Metlin answered, to Boston. Atkinson 
asked if he ever expected to reach there, and rode 
on. Atkinson stopped at Greenland, and Metlin 
passed him ; they alternately passed each other eve- 
ry stage on the road, and crossed Charlestown ferry, 
in the same boat, before sunset. 

When Metlin quitted the baking business, he re- 
moved to Wakefield, and died there at the very ad- 
vanced age of one hundred and fifteen years. 

1788. 

The convention, to whom the important question 
was committed, whether this state should adopt or 
reject the Federal constitution, met at Exeter the 
2d Wednesday of February. The honourable John 
Langdon, John Pickering, and Peirce Long, were 
delegates from this town. After debating on the 
subject nine or ten days, the convention adjourned 
to the second Wednesday of June, then to meet at 
Concord. At this meeting the debates were contin- 
ued until Saturday afternoon, when the question was 
taken by yeas and nays. Whilst the Secretary was 
calling over the members, and recording their votes, 
a death-like silence prevailed ; every bosom throb- 
bed with anxious expectation. When the votes 
were counted, there appeared 57 for the adoption, 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 291 

md 46 against it, leaving a majority of eleven in its 
favour. This state was the ninth tiiat adopted the 
constitution ; and according to the provisions made 
in it, the government was to be put into operation, 
rhis pleasing and interesting intelligence was re- 
ceived in this town on Sunday morning. Mutual 
[congratulations took place, and public thanks were 
returned in all the churches. Thursday the 26th 
3f June, was appointed for the celebration of this 
important event. About 11 o'clock a large con- 
course of the inhabitants assembled on the parade, 
md moved in procession through the principal 
streets in the following order : 

A band of music in an open coach and six horses 
iecorated ; Husbandmen; a plough drawn by nine 
y^oke of oxen ; a man sowing ; a harrow ; Reap- 
ers ; Threshers ; Mowers ; Haymakers, each with 
their appropriate implements ; a man swingling 
flax ; a cart for gathering in harvest ; Blacksmiths 
and Nailers with their forges, anvils, and sledges, at 
work ; Shipwrights with their tools ; Caulkers ; 
Rope-makers with a spinning wheel and hemp 
round their waists, occupied; Riggers; Mast-mak- 
ers ; Ship-joiners ; Block-makers ; Mathematical 
Instrument-makers with an Azimuth Compass ; 
Boat-builders at work on a boat nearly completed ; 
Carvers, Painters, Glaziers, and Plumbers ; Coopers, 
trimming casks ; Cullers of fish ; Steevadores ; Pi- 
lots with spy-glasses and charts ; the ship Union 
completely rigged, armed and manned, under an 



292 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

easy sail, with colours flying, elevated on a carriage 
drawn by nine horses, a tenth, (emblematical of 
Virginia) completely harnessed, led, and ready to 
join the rest ; Ship-Captains with their quadrants j 
Seamen; Shoremen ; Truckmen; Millers; Bakers, 
preceded by a flag, displaying the baker's arms ; 
Butchers, Tanners, and Curriers ; Cordwainers with 
their lasts decorated ; Tallow-Chandlers ; Tail- 
ors ; Barbers ; Hatters ; Housewrights ; Masons ; 
Cabinet-makers ; Wheelwrights ; Saddlers and 
Chaise-trimmers ; Upholsterers ; Goldsmiths, Jewel- 
lers, and Silversmiths; Clock and Watch-makers; 
Coppersmiths ; Whitesmiths ; Brass founders ; Tin-, 
men, with nine pillars and stars on a pedestal ; 
Potters, with a table and wheel at work, nine pil- 
lars erected; Brick-makers burning a kiln, others 
moulding bricks ; Leather-dressers ; Card-makers 
with cards ; Printers, preceded by two lads with 
open quires of printed paper, followed with cases 
and apparatus decorated, and compositors at work ; 
Pressmen employed during the whole procession, in 
striking off and distributing among the surrounding 
multitude, songs in celebration of the ratification of 
the Federal Constitution, by the state of New- 
Hampshire : 

MOTTO. 
" A government of freemen never knows 
A tyrant's shackles, on the press t' impose.'" 

Consuls, Merchants, and Traders ; the boys of 
the different schools with the insignia of their stu^^; 



ANjSTALS of PORTSMOUTH. ^98 

lies decorated ; the Terrestrial Globe, rectified for 
S^ew-Hampshire, and decorated by a company of 
^oung ladies, who were studying geography, carri- 
ed by two lads in uniform. In the decorations each 
itate was distinguished ; New-Hampshire in the 
5i?nith, and Rhode-Island on the western horizon in 
nourning. 
The Masters of the schools : 

MOTTO. 
" Where the bright beams of Federal freedom glow, 
The buds of science, in full beauty blow." 

!!Jlergy, Physicians, and Surgeons ; Sheriff, preced- 
ed by his deputies ; Judges of Common Law and 
Admiralty Courts ; Clerks of Courts ; Gentlemen of 
;he bar supporting the Federal Constitution ; The 
President of the State, and President of the Con- 
tention ; Secretaries of the State and Convention ; 
Members of the Convention ; Members of the Legis- 
ature ; Treasurer and Commissary-General ; Militia 
)fficers in uniform. Every profession was distin- 
ynished by some insignia or badge peculiar to it. 
A.11 intended to represent that in consequence of 
Lhis union, commerce, and all the arts dependant on 
it, would revive and flourish. During the proces- 
sion several Federal songs, composed for the occa- 
sion, were sung, accompanied by the band. A cold 
sollation was prepared at Union-hill, of which the 
company partook ; and after the repast, nine patri- 
Dtic to^LSts were drunk^ the artillery fired a salute 
after each of them ; and the songs were again sung, 



294 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

accompanied by the band. The procession then 
formed in the same order, and was saluted by thir- 
teen guns from the artillery ; which was called a 
Federal salute. On their arrival at the Court-house, 
a salute was fired from the ship, and the company 
dispersed. The ship fired another salute, as she 
passed the President's house. 

In the evening the State-house was beautifully 
illuminated with nine lights at each window, while 
a large company of ladies and gentlemen on the 
parade were entertained with music from the bal- 
cony. Joy sparkled in every eye, and pleasure was 
seated in every breast. All seemed to anticipate 
the happier days, which they were to enjoy under 
the Federal government. 

Doctor Clement Jackson was esteemed one of the 
most eminent physicians of this town and neighbour- 
hood for many years. He had laid the best founda- 
tion for knowledge in his profession, which the 
limited advantages, he could obtain in this country, 
afforded. Having a discriminating mind, and being 
in the habit of making accurate observations, he 
soon became acquainted with the nature of the dis- 
orders prevalent here, and with the best method of 
treating them. His practice was extensive ; his 
benevolence universal. He never turned from ob- 
jects of distress, without making exertions to relieve 
them ; and always regarded the sufferings of others 
with tender sensibility. His amiable disposition 
recommended him to all who knew him ; he was " a 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 295 

man greatly beloved." He died on Friday, the 
lOth day of October, in the eighty- third year of his 
age. 

George Jerry Osborne, jr. commenced the publi- 
3ation of a paper twice a week, entitled. The New- 
Hampshire Spy.* 

Robert Gerrish commenced the publication of a 
A^eekly newspaper, entitled, the New-Hampshire 
Mercury, sometime between the years 1780 and 
1790, which he continued to publish about four or 
5ve years. 



1789. 

The Independent Society in Pitt-street invited 
Vlr. Joseph Walton to take the pastoral charge of 
;heir church and congregation. He accepted their 
;all, and was ordained by the church without a 
Council, or any other assistance, on the 22d of Sep- 
:ember. 

The Watch-house, which stood on the ledge of 
'ocks in Court-street, was taken down and rebuilt 
)n the school-house lot in Buck-street, and the 
'Ocks were entirely removed. 

October 30th. The President of the United 

states, on his northern tour, arrived in this town. 

le was met at the line of the state, by the Presi- 

lent and Council of this state, the Marshall of the 

*This paper was discontinued early in the year 1793. 



296 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

district, and a great number of gentlemen of dis- 
tinction, who waited upon him to this place, escorted 
by Colonel Cogswell's regiment of cavalry. Colonel 
Wentworth's independent company of horse met him 
at Greenland, and joined the escort j at the plains* 
the military ofloicers were drawn up, under command 
of Major General Cilley, to salute him as he passed. 
At his entrance into the compact part of the town, 
he was saluted by the discharge of thirteen cannon, 
from three companies of artillery in complete uni- 
form, under command of Colonel Hackett. Con- 
gress-street, through which he passed, was lined 
with the citizens of the town, the several trades 
being arranged alphabetically. ^^ The bells rang a 
joyful peal, and repeated shouts from grateful thou- 
sands, hailed their deliverer welcome" to the town. 
The windows and doors of the houses, which he 
passed, were crowded with ladies desirous of be- 
holding the man, whom all delighted to honour. 
A Federal salute was fired from the fort, the ships 
in the harbour were decorated with colours, and 
every thing wore the face of joy. 

On his arrival at the State-house, President Sul- 
livan and the Council introduced him to the Senate- 
chamber, from the balcony of which, he gratified 
all immense crowd of spectators, who covered the 
parade and the adjacent buildings, and who had col- 
lected to pay him their profound respects. Whilst 
ih this situation, several odes, composed for the 
occasion, were sung in a superior style, accompanied 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 297 

ly a band of music. A large body of troops, under 
ommand of General Cilley, passed him in review, 
nd he was then conducted to his lodgings by Presi- 
ent Sullivan, the Marshal of the district, and seve- 
al other gentlemen, escorted by a company of in- 
antry under arms. In the evening the State-house 
;^as brilliantly illuminated ; thirteen rockets ascend- 
d from the balcony, and other fire-works added to 
he beauty of the scene. 

On Sunday President Washington attended di- 
'ine worship at Queen's-Chapel in the morning, and 
.t the north church in the afternoon. 

In the forenoon on Monday, accompanied by 
General Sullivan, the honourable Mr. Langdon, the 
ylarshal of the district, and the Consul of France, 
le made an excursion down the harbour; the sea- 
aen, who rowed the barge in which the President 
v^ent, were dressed in white, the other barge was 
•owed by seamen clothed in round blue jackets, 
rhe gentlemen composing the band followed at a 
hort distance and performed several select pieces of 
ausic on the water. 

The President landed at Kittery, in the district 
if Maine, and after a short stay, returned by way 
>f Little-Harbour, where he made a visit to Colonel 
Michael Wentworth, at the romantic seat of the 
ate Governor Benning Wentworth, an abode of 
:legance and hospitality ; from thence he proceeded 
town by land. A committee of the town waited 
ipon the President and presented him a congratu- 
38 



298 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

latory address, to which he returned an affectionate 
answer. 

On Tuesday, an elegant entertainment was given 
by President Sullivan and his Council to the Presi- 
dent of the United States. Many of the officers of 
government, the Clergy, the bar, and other gentle- 
men of distinction were present. In the evening 
the gentlemen of the town gave a splendid ball, 
which the President honoured with his presence, 
where he was introduced to a brilliant circle of 
ladies. Every thing was done to render the visit of 
their illustrious guest agreeable : every bosom glow- 
ed with gratitude at the sight of a man, who had 
rendered his country so many essential services 5 
every tongue was emulous to speak his praise. 

He left town early on Thursday morning to retura 
to New- York. 

1790. 

The number of inhabitants in this town, as ap- 
pears by the census taken in pursuance of the act 
of Congress, is four thousand, seven hundred, and 
twenty. 

On Tuesday night follov/ing the 13th day of July, 
a wicked attempt was made to burn the town. A 
box, made of boards, about two feet square, open 
on one side, filled with birch bark, tar, and other 
combustibles on fire, was set, the open part against 
the barn of Oliver Whipple, Esq. in Jaffrey-street, 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 299 

The fire burned nearly through the clapboards and 
boards of the building, where the box came in con- 
tact with it, and the flames ascended to the ridge- 
pole. The fire was soon discovered, and extinguish- 
ed before it had done much damage. 

1791. 

The society, which usually met in the north meet- 
ing-house for public worship, was incorporated by 
an act of the Legislature by the name of the North 
Parish. 

Jacob Sheafe, Esq. died the 26th of June, 1791, 
in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He was the 
second son of the honourable Sampson Sheafe ; was 
born at New-Castle in the year 1715. Having been 
bred a merchant, he settled in this town, and engag- 
ed largely in mercantile business, which he pursued 
with reputation and success until his death. Gov- 
ernor Wentworth appointed him Commissary of 
the New-Hampshire forces at the capture of Lou- 
isburgh. In 1767, he was elected one of the rep- 
resentatives of this town ; and was reelected every 
year afterwards until 1774. 

John Parker, Esq. departed this life, after a short 
illness, on the 4th of October. He was the second 
son of the honourable William Parker, and was born 
in this town the 16th of November, 1732. He re- 
ceived the rudiments of his education at the gram- 
mar-school under the care of the Rev. Doctor Lang- 



300 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

don, and was removed from school to the Counting- 
house of Colonel Nathaniel Sparhawk of Kittery 
Point, who was extensively concerned in navigation 
and fishery ; with whom he served his appren? ice- 
ship under indentures "to learn the art, trade, and 
mystery of a merchant." After his apprenticeship 
had expired, he performed a number of voyages as 
master of a ship. In 1763, he entered into part- 
nership in trade with William Rhodes, under the 
firm of Rhodes and Parker; which connexion con- 
tinued four or five years, but proved unfortunate, 
owing to some severe losses, which they suffered at 
sea. Governor Wentworth appointed him Sheriff of 
the province in 1771, and Sheriff of Rockingham, 
after the province was divided into counties. When 
the government was assumed by the people at the 
commencement of the revolution, he was reappoint- 
ed by the authority of the state, Sheriff of Rock- 
ingham ; and when the Federal Government went 
into operation. President Washington appointed him 
Marshal of the district of New-Hampshire. He 
held these ofiices during life, and discharged the 
several duties of them with fidelity and care. He 
likewise had the direction of an insurance oflice, 
and conducted the business of it with accuracy and 
skill. He was never married, but his house was the 
asylum of the widow and orphan, and the children 
he took the charge of, were nourished and educated 
with paternal care. His benevolence was not con- 
fined to his relations, but extended in many instan- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 301 

ces to strangers, who partook largely of his bounty. 

In the walks of private life, his virtues were 
conspicuous. He was a social companion, an accom- 
plished gentleman, a disinterested friend. A very 
numerous and extensive acquaintance mourn his loss. 

The Episcopal society, which have usually met in 
Queen's-Chapel for public worship, was incorporat- 
ed by an act of the Legislature, by the name of St. 
John's-Church. 

1792. 

A bank was established in this town by the name 
of the New-Hampshire Bank, to continue fifty 
years, under the management of a President, and 
seven directors ; with a capital of one hundred and 
sixty thousand dollars. 

1793. 

The honourable Leverett Hubbard, died the 2d 
day of January, aged sixty-nine. He was born in 
Rhode-Island, and was educated at Harvard College, 
where he obtained the reputation of a good classical 
scholar, and received the honours of the College in 
1742. He was of a warm, sanguine disposition, and, 
being disappointed in not having any part assigned 
him in the public exercises on commencement day, 
he took a conspicuous place in the gallery, and de- 
livered a severe philippic in Latin against the Presi- 



302 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

dent; who in vain endeavoured to stop him. The 
corporation at first refused him his degree, but 
through the intervention of his friends, granted it 
afterwards. He studied law in Rhode -Island, but 
never became eminent as a lawyer. He came to 
this town about the year 1760, and was soon ap- 
pointed Controller of the customs; in 1763 he was 
appointed a Justice of the Superior Court of Judica- 
ture for the province, but did not excel as a Judge. 
He indulged himself in bold flights of imagination. 
When Mr. West first came to the bar, he was engag- 
ed for the demandant in a real action for five hun- 
dred acres of land. In Judge Hubbard's address to 
the Jury, he observed that the cause had been man- 
aged in a masterly manner, especially by the young 
gentleman who appeared for the plaintiff, that he 
should be willing to give the whole land, if it was 
covered with money, to be able to argue a cause 
as he had done, but said he, " I check myself in 
the thought, for it appears to me like the impi- 
ous wish of Simon Magus to purchase the Holy 
Spirit with money.'' Judge Hubbard was of a ve- 
ry benevolent, friendly disposition, and courteous in 
his deportment. When the State Constitution went 
into operation in 1784, he was not reappointed, 
which left him in very straitened circumstances, and 
his mind became in some measure deranged, a few 
years before his death. 

'A general dissatisfaction having taken place in 
the minds of his parishoners with the Rev. Mr. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 303 

Ogden, in consequence of which, his usefulness was 
destroyed, it became necessary to dissolve the con- 
nexion between them. He was accordingly dismis- 
sed on the 30th day of January. 

March 26th. The town purchased of John 
Peirce, Esq. as Attorney of John Fisher, Esq. a lot 
of land now in possession of James Grouard, near 
the parade, for the purpose of erecting a market 
thereon, for the sum of four hundred and fifty 
pounds. 

The town agreed to take a number of shares in 
the bridge, proposed to be built across Piscataqua 
river, from Newington to Durham, to the amount of 
one thousand pounds, provided the shares are not 
subscribed for by individuals. 

The bell at the south parish, having been broken 
by striking it with a hammer according to the di- 
rection of the selectmen,, instead of tolling it for 
funerals ; the town authorized the selectmen to pay 
the wardens of that parish a sum of money equal to 
the expense of procuring and hanging a bell in the 
belfrey of the meeting-house of that parish, of the 
same weight of the present bell, deducting the net 
proceeds of the sale of the same. 

Charles Peirce commenced the publication of 
a newspaper, entitled The United States Oracle of 
the Day, on the 4th of June. 

June 27th. The town appointed a committee, 
whom they empowered to sell and convey all the 
land on spring- hill, where the old market stood, and 



304 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the lands contiguous, reserving such sufficient street 
or streets, and water privilege, as they may deem 
necessary for the use of the town ; and to make and 
execute good and lawful deeds of the same in behalf 
of the town, with covenants of warranty, to be fully 
and completely obligatory upon the town. 

The proclamation of the President of the United 
States, requiring the people to observe a strict 
neutrality towards the belligerant powers, excited 
different sensations in the minds of the different 
existing parties. By some, who thought that we 
were under the greatest obligation to France, and 
ought to unite with them in all their opposition to 
Great Britain, it was highly condemned. The more 
cool and dispassionate part of the community, who 
dreaded the horrors of war, and thought it for the 
interest of this country, to avoid the politics of 
Europe, warmly applauded it. 

At a town-meeting, held the 13th of August, the 
following resolutions were passed. 

First — That the inhabitants of this town do heart- 
ily approve of the proclamation of the Supreme 
Executive of the United States, warning all persons 
to refrain from violating the law of Nations, and 
declaring the neutrality of the United States, and 
their disposition to observe a conduct friendly and 
impartial towards all the beUigerant powers. 

Second — That in our opinion, the President of 
the United States, in issuing his proclamation, has 
acted in strict conformity to the nature and duties 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 305 

of his office, as the executor of the laws, and guar- 
dian of the public welfare ; and thereby rendered 
effectual service to the public in general, and most 
seasonable relief to the mercantile interest, at a 
time, when it was doubted in foreign parts whether 
our shipping would remain neutral or not. 

Third — That we are determined to assist, to the 
utmost of our ability, the Government in maintain- 
ing the neutrality and peace of the United States, 
and will use our best endeavours to detect and 
bring to justice all persons, who by their arts and 
proceedings, shall violate the law of nations, and 
endanger the peace and welfare of the Union. 

Fourth — That we rely on the support and ener- 
gy of the Government of the United States, that 
our navigation shall be freed from the present dep- 
redations and insults committed by the powers at 
war; and that just compensation shall be made to 
those who have suffered by such unwarrantable con- 
duct. 

Arthur Brown, Esq. L L. D. late a Fellow of 
Trinity College, Dublin, and King's Professor of 
Greek, Representative in Parliament for the Uni- 
versity of Dublin, in Ireland, presented to the Epis- 
copal Church a very elegant bible, printed at the 
Clarendon press, in token of his affection and re- 
spect for a congregation, of which his grandfather 
was formerly pastor. 

The society of Universalists was incorporated by 
an act of the Legislature, passed June 17th. This 
39 



306 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

society gave an invitation to Mr. George Richards 
to settle with them in the ministry, which he ac- 
cepted, and commenced preaching to them the 29th 
of August. 

1794. 

The Legislature granted a charter, incorporating 
a number of persons belonging to this town and 
their associates, for the purpose of building a bridge 
over Piscataqua river, by the name of the Proprie- 
tors of Piscataqua Bridge. Having made every 
necessary preparation, they commenced the work, 
the beginning of April, and had it so far completed 
on the 23th of November, as to be passable ; when 
they began to take toll. The bridge connects the 
towns of Newington and Durham, just below the 
outlet of Little-Bay. It is two thousand three 
hundred and sixty-two feet in length, and thirty- 
eight feet in width. The river over which it pas- 
ses is generally upwards of fifty feet deep at high 
water. From the Newington shore a stone abut- 
ment extends several feet into the river. The 
bridge is then supported by piles, five of which 
were strongly framed, and braced together, and 
driven into the bottom of the river. String pieces 
were laid from the cap of one set of piles to another, 
and on them the plank or flooring of the bridge was 
secured. This mode of constructing it, extends as 
far as Rock-Island, on which a strong stone abut- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 307 

ment is built, and another on the shore of Goat- 
Island ; from one of these abutments to the other, 
an arch is thrown, the chord of which is two hun- 
dred forty-four feet six inches. The arch is com- 
posed of three tiers of girders, the lower one is 
sixteen feet from the chord, and twenty feet from 
the water at the high tide. The second tier sup- 
ports the planking on which the road passes, which 
is on a larger circle to facilitate the travelling. 
The upper tier answers the purpose of railing. 
There are three sets of these girders, one on each 
side, and one in the middle of the bridge, which 
are so braced and framed together, as to make the 
whole strong and firm. This arch was constructed 
by Mr. Timothy Palmer, of Newburyport, on a 
model entirely new, and does him great credit for 
his skill in architecture. The remainder of the 
bridge from Goat-Island to the Durham shore, is 
built on piles, in which is a draw for vessels to pass 
through, as they go up and down the river. 

In constructing this bridge, three thousand tons 
of oak timber, two thousand tons of pine timber, 
eighty thousand four-inch plank, twenty tons of 
iron, and eight thousand tons of stone have been 
used. The directors appointed Thomas Thompson 
and John Peirce, Esquires, agents, under whose 
direction and superintendence, the materials were 
provided, and the work performed. The whole 
cost of the bridge was sixty-two thousand dollars. 



308 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

It is expected that this bridge will be of essential 
benefit to Portsmouth, as it will open a communica- 
tion with the country, which could not previously 
be had, without crossing the river, or some of its 
branches in boats, 

1795. 

The parish of St. John's Church, the last year, 
requested Mr. Joseph Willard, a resident graduate 
of Harvard College, to officiate for them on proba- 
tion. The parish, on the 29th of December, gave 
him an invitation to settle with them in the minis- 
try, which he accepted. On the 22d of February 
he received Deacon's orders, and on the 24th of the 
same month, was admitted to Priest's orders, by the 
Right Rev. Doctor Provost, Bishop of New- York. 

The treaty between the United States and Great 
Britain, had been laid before the Senate, who ad- 
vised the President to ratify it. While he had it 
under consideration, a member of the Senate pro- 
cured it to be published, which caused the Presi- 
dent great embarrassment. The country was divid- 
ed in opinion, as to its operation and effect. This 
town met for the purpose of expressing their opin- 
ion on the subject, on the 16th of July ; and after 
voting, " That it was inconsistent with the interest 
and honour of the United States to adopt'' the trea- 
ty ; they agreed upon the following address : 

" To George Washington, President of the Uni- 
ted States of America : 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 309 

'^Sir — Convinced of your inviolable attachment 
to the interest and happiness of the States over 
which you preside, and your readiness on all occa- 
sions to attend to every just complaint of the peo- 
ple, we, the citizens of Portsmouth, constitutionally 
assembled in public town-meeting to signify our 
opinions, relative to the treaty between Great Brit- 
ain and the United States of America, consented to 
by a majority of the Senate, and recommended for 
your ratification, having taken the same into our 
most serious consideration, beg leave to express our 
roost hearty disapprobation thereof for the following 
general reasons, viz. : 

First — Because that part of the treaty of 1783, 
securing the payment of debts due to British sub- 
jects, is rigorously enforced, while an important 
article in the same treaty, requiring a compensation 
for negroes and other property, unjustly removed, 
is placed wholly out of view. 

Second— Because the 9th article confers a privi- 
lege on British subjects, which, though expressed 
in terms reciprocal, yet from the different circum- 
stances of the two nations, not only wants an equiv- 
alent, but is a direct invasion of the rights of indi- 
vidual states. 

Third — ^Because the bonds required of command- 
ers of privateers, are wholly inadequate for the 
purposes for which such provision was made. 

Fourth — Because the regulations of trade, com- 
merce, and navigation between the two parties, 



310 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

contained in the 3d, 13th, 15th, and 17th articles, 
hold out the most decided advantage to British sub- 
jects, and must in their operation prove destructive 
to American commerce and navigation. 

Fifth — Because by the 18th article many articles 
of export are admitted as contraband of war, which 
by our treaties with France, Holland, and Sweden 
are declared free ; by which means, a disposition to 
aid the British in the destruction of the navies of 
those nations is fairly implied. 

Sixth — Because all the essential advantages, re- 
sulting to the United States from a ratification of 
the treaty, are such as they have a right to demand, 
either by virtue of the treaty of 1783, or from 
principles of common justice, was there no treaty 
existing, while many important privileges are allow- 
ed the British, without a counterpart. 

Thus have we stated a few of the many objections 
that might be opposed to the treaty. We forbear 
entering into a more particular detail, as it would 
probably be but a repetition of those, which we 
presume must flow in to you from every quarter, as 
the guardian and protector of our rights and liber- 
ties, and who alone in the present instances, can 
avert the many evils that threaten our ruin. 

We therefore most fervently request that the 
treaty between Great Britain and the United States, 
may not receive your ratification, till it undergo 
such alterations as shall render it conducive to the 
interest; honour, and lasting peace of our country." 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 311 

They voted, That this town heartily approve of 
the conduct of Mr. Langdon, and his nine patriotic 
associates, in opposing the ratification of the treaty 
between Great Britain and the United States of 
America. And they voted the thanks of this town 
to Mr. S. T. Mason, a Senator from Virginia, for his 
patriotism in publishing the treaty unduly withheld 
by the Senate from the people. 

This treaty caused a great ferment among the 
inhabitants. The other Senator in Congress from 
New-Hampshire had voted for its ratification. A 
counter address to the President was drawn up and 
signed by a large number of individuals. But to 
prevent its being sent on, two or three hundred of 
the enriaged populace assembled, and armed with 
clubs paraded the streets, with drums beating, and 
carrying the efiigies of the commissioners, who made 
the treaty, and the Senator, who voted for its rati- 
fication ; insulted many of the signers of the address, 
broke their windows and fences, injured their trees, 
and with threats of personal injury and violence 
demanded the address of the person, who had it in 
possession. After keeping the town in terror and 
confusion several hours, they burnt the effigies, and 
then dispersed. Ten of the principal persons, con- 
cerned in this riot, were indicted at the next Supe- 
rior Court. 

In December, a company was incorporated by the 
name of the Proprietors of the Portsmouth Pier. 
They purchased the estate at the end of Buck, now 



512 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

State-street, lately belonging to the honourable 
Henry Sherburne, deceased, and extended the pier 
or wharf three hundred and forty feet, and its aver- 
age breadth is about sixty-five feet ; on the south 
side is a building, three hundred and twenty feet in 
length, thirty feet in breadth, and three stories 
high, which is divided into fourteen stores. 

At the annual meeting, the town authorized the 
selectmen to purchase a large fire-engine of the best 
construction. 

Colonel Michael Wentworth died at New- York, 
the 25th of September, aged seventy-six. He was 
born at Yorkshire, in England, and was nearly allied 
to the Marquis of Rockingham, and Earl of Straf- 
ford, who were distinguished members of thfe Went- 
worth family, in that country. His elder brother, 
Peregrine Wentworth, inherited the paternal estate, 
and as is commonly the case there, other provision 
was to be made for the younger son. Colonel Went- 
worth accordingly entered the army very early in 
life, and served under the Duke of Cumberland, in 
Great Britain, and on the continent. He acted as 
a volunteer in the battle of Culloden, on the 15th 
of April, 1745, when the Duke obtained the deci- 
sive victory over the rebels, which put an end to 
the hopes and prospects of the pretender, Charles 
Stuart. The May following he was in France ; and 
was engaged in the famous battle of Fontenoy, when 
the French troops, commanded by Marshal Saxe, 
gained a complete victory over the allied army un- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 313 

der command of the Duke of Cumberland, but al- 
though the English and their allies were .unfortunate 
in the issue of this engagement, the celebrated solid 
column in which Mr. Wentworth held a subordinate 
command, routed the French guards, during the 
engagement. He continued his connexion with the 
army, some time after the peace in 1748, by the 
treaty of Aix la Chapelle, and, having disposed of 
his commission, he returned to England, and passed 
a few years with his brother and other friends. He 
came to this country in 1767, and in 1770 married 
the widow of the late Governor Benning Went- 
worth, who possessed an ample fortune, fixed his 
residence at Little-Harbour, the seat of the late 
Governor, where he enjoyed during the remainder 
of his life, otium cum dignitate. 

He possessed an excellent constitution, which he 
preserved by frequent exercise. He always rode 
on horseback, when he had occasion to travel ; and 
generally enjoyed good health, and a fine flow of 
animal spirits. He thought no man old, notwith- 
standing he had lived many years, whose mental 
faculties, vigour, and activity, were unimpaired. 
He was remarkably fond of music, and excelled in 
playing on the violin. His manners were those of 
an accomplished gentleman : his acquaintance with 
mankind, and social habits rendered him a very 
pleasing companion. 



40 



314 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1796. 

The society, which usually worship in the meet- 
ing-house in Pitt-street, were incorporated by an 
act of the Legislature by the name of the Inde- 
pendent Congregational Society. 

Mr. Blanchard, the famous aeronaut, sent up a 
balloon, which ascended very majestically. At a 
certain height, a parachute was detached from it, 
which immediately opened and gradually fell to the 
ground. 

1797. 

March 10th. The honourable John Sherburne 
departed this life in the seventy-seventh year of 
his age. After a night of undisturbed repose, he 
awoke in the morning at his usual hour, enquired of 
his servant concerning the state of the weather, 
gave some directions respecting his domestic affairs, 
and soon after arose ; and having partly dressed, lay 
down again on the bed, turned upon his side, and 
instantly expired, without a struggle or a groan. 

Mr. Sherburne was educated a merchant, and 
followed the profession with reputation and success. 
He was employed early in life in public business, 
and for a long series of years was elected represent- 
ative for this town in the Legislature of the prov- 
ince. He was Register of the Court of Vice Ad- 
miralty, and Judge of Probate ; which offioes he 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 315 

held until the commencement of the revolution. 
He was likewise one of his Majesty's Council for 
this province. But notwithstanding his holding 
these several offices under the crown, he was an 
early, active, and uniform opponent of the measures 
of the British Cabinet, to bring this country into 
subjection. 

As a professor of religion, he endeavoured to live 
agreeably to the precepts of the gospel, and to prac- 
tice those virtues, which are there recommended. 

On the 28th of September, died Doctor Hall 
Jackson, after a short illness, in the fifty-eighth year 
of his age. In visiting some patients, his sulkey 
was overset, whereby several ribs were fractured, 
and a fever ensued, which terminated his life. 
Doctor Jackson was born in this town, and received 
the first rudiments of his education in the public 
schools here. He studied the theory of physic and 
surgery, under the direction of his father. Doctor 
Clement Jackson. After completing his studies 
here, he went to London, and attended lectures 
in the public hospitals there, to perfect himself in 
surgery. Upon his return to this country, he 
opened an apothecary's shop, but his practice as a 
physician soon became so extensive, that he was 
obliged to relinquish in a great measure, his busi- 
ness as a druggist, and attend almost entirely to his 
profession. As a physician, he was skilful ; as a 
surgeon, eminent. No operation of importance was 
performed for many miles round, without consulting 



316 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

him, and seldom without his aid. He had great 
experience in the small-pox; and many hospitals, 
which were established for inoculating with that 
disorder, were committed to his care, and he was 
remarkably successful in conducting his patients 
safely through the disease. In the obstetric art he 
obtained high reputation, and was frequently appli- 
ed to for advice and assistance in difficult cases, by 
persons who did not generally employ him. He 
frequently performed the operation of couching, 
and always with success. Harvard College confer- 
red on him the degree of Doctor of Medicine ; and 
he was elected an honorary member of the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society. He was Grand Master 
of the Free and Accepted Masons in New-Hamp- 
shire, at the time of his decease. His sprightly 
talents, lively imagination, and social habits, ren- 
dered him an agreeable companion ; facetious and 
pleasant in conversation, his friends enjoyed in his 
company " the feast of reason,'' with the flow of 
wit ; and the several societies of which he was a 
member, found their entertainment greatly height^ 
ened by his presence. 

1798. 

January 18th. The Crescent, frigate, mounting 
thirty-two guns, sailed for the Mediterranean. She 
was built in this port, under the superintendence 
of Colonel James Hackett, and is esteemed one of 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 317 

the finest specimens of naval architecture, that ever 
floated on the waters of the Piscataqua. This frig- 
ate is a present from the United States, to the Dey 
of Algiers, and was supposed, including her cargo, 
to be worth at least three hundred thousand dollars. 

In the summer, an epidemic disorder, commonly 
called the yellow fever, broke out at the north end. 
The inhabitants in the vicinity, generally removed, 
and by that means stopped its extensive progress. 
The town appointed a committee, consisting of five 
physicians, and requested them to publish from time 
to time such regulations for the observance of the 
inhabitants, as in their opinion may have the great- 
est tendency to prevent the spreading of the fever. 
It proved very fatal to those who were attacked 
with it. At the same time the dysentery prevailed 
at the south end. From the 20th of July, to the 
6th of October, one hundred and seven persons 
died, fifty-five with the fever, and fifty-two with 
the dysentery and other disorders. Among the 
fifty-two, were twenty-nine young children. 

The Federal Observer was first published by 
William Treadwell and Samuel Hart, on the 22d 
day of November.* 

1799. 

The Republican Ledger was commenced by 
George Jerry Osborne, jr. in the month of Sep- 
tember. 

* This paper was discontinued June 12th, 1800. 



318 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

The Rev. Timothy Alden was ordained Collegiate 
pastor with the Rev. Doctor Haven, of the south 
church and parish, on the 20th of November. 

Tuesday, the 31st day of December, was set 
apart to commemorate the death of the illustrious 
Washington, who departed this life the 14th of this 
month. At an early hour all public offices, stores, 
and shops were closed ; business and pleasure were 
suspended. At 11 o'clock a procession moved from 
the Assembly-room, to St. John's-Church, in the 
following order : 

The Companies of Artillery, Light Infantry, and 
Governor Oilman's Blues, with muffled drums, music 
in crape, arms reversed, side-arms with black bows. 
Martial music playing the dead march in Saul. 
The Grand Lodge of New-Hampshire, accompanied 
by St. John's Lodge, and many visiting brethren, 
in the habiliments of their order. The Orator and 
Rector of St. John's-Church ; United States' Mili- 
tary Officers ; Commissioned Officers of the Militia ; 
Selectmen ; Clergy ; Citizens and strangers, two and 
two. When the processsion entered the Church, a 
solemn piece of music was performed on the organ. 
Rev. Mr. Willard read the service of the Church, 
and Jonathan M. Sewall, Esq. pronounced an eulo- 
gy on the sorrowful occasion. A vast concourse of 
people attended, and almost every individual of 
respectability, wore crape as a badge of mourning, 
and all the shipping in the harbour hoisted their 
flags half-mast high. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 319 

" From heart to heart, the soft infection ran, 
All orders wept the great, the Godlike man ;" 
One tear pervaded every melting eye, 
And mourning thousands heav'd one common sigh ! 

Here pious zeal, and frantic rage were lost, 
The only contest, who should weep him most ; 
Each diiferent name was swallowed up in one, 
That name, the glorious name of Washington. 



1800. 

According to the enumeration, made pursuant to 
an act of Congress, passed July 9th, 1798, there are 
in this town, six hundred twenty-six dwelling hou- 
ses ; of these eighty-six are one story, five hundred 
twenty-four are two stories, and sixteen are three 
stories high. The number of inhabitants, by the 
census amounted to five thousand; three hundred 
and thirty-nine. 

The town erected a building for the market, 
on the lot purchased for that purpose, near the 
parade. The building is eighty feet long, and two 
stories high. The lower story, which is designed 
for the market is twelve feet high. The upper 
story, which is fourteen feet high, is designed for 
public uses, and is called Jefferson -hall. One hun- 
dred and forty-five thousand bricks were used in 
the building, and were laid in thirty-nine days. 

A number of persons were incorporated the 19th 
December, 1797, by the name of the Proprietors of 



320 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the Portsmouth Aqueduct. The water is conveyed 
into town by wooden pipes, from a spring, situated 
in the outskirts of the town, about three miles 
distant from the Court-house. The proprietors be- 
gan to lay the pipes last year, and have now so far 
completed it, that two hundred and fourteen houses 
and stores are supplied with water. It is conveyed 
into most of the streets in town, and the spring 
yields great abundance for the supply of all the in- 
habitants. The water is of an excellent quality. 

1801. 

About half past three o'clock in the afternoon, on 
Sunday, the first of March, there was a considerable 
earthquake. The sound appeared to come from the 
northwest, and continued about thirty seconds. It 
resembled the rumbling of a coach, passing moder- 
ately over frozen ground ; and was attended with a 
tremulous motion of the earth, which was very per- 
ceptible in all parts of this town. Some supposed 
their chiranies were on fire, until their windows 
began to rattle. In one house a waiter, which stood 
edgewise under the table, was thrown down, and in 
another, the small house bell was rung, and in va- 
rious instances the crockery on the shelves made a 
gentle clattering. The shock was perceived on 
board vessels in the harbour ; cattle and fowls dis- 
covered marks of fear. The weather was mild and 
pleasant. 



ANNALS OF PORTSIMOUTH. 321 

1802. 

Among the Physicians of this town, who have at- 
tained considerable eminence, Doctor Joshua Brack- 
ett holds a conspicuous place. He was born at 
Greenland in May, 1733. In his early youth, he 
attended the public school in his native town, but 
as his parents intended him for one of the learned 
professions, they determined to give him a collegi- 
ate education ; and placed him under the tuition of 
the Rev. Mr. Rust, of Stratham. He was there 
prepared for admission into Harvard College, where 
he was graduated in 1752. He then applied him- 
self to the study of theology, with an intention to 
qualify himself for the gospel ministry. Having 
made some progress in his studies, he was licens- 
ed by the association and preached a short time. 
He was induced to enter on this profession, 
more to gratify the wishes of his parents, than 
to follow his own inclinations, and he soon re- 
linquished it for the practice of physic, which 
was more congenial with the natural bent of his 
mind. He pursued his medical studies under 
the direction of Doctor Clement Jackson, who was 
then at the head of the profession here. The 
medical student at that time, laboured under ma- 
ny disadvantages, which he would not at present 
experience. By assiduous attention to his books, 
with the benefit of seeing Dr. Jackson's extensive 
pracitice. Doctor Brackett laid the best foundation 
41 



322 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

for knowledge in the profession, his opportunities 
afforded. He had a taste for literature, particularly 
for those branches, which led to the examination of 
the works of nature. Having completed his terra 
with Doctor Jackson, he commenced business in this 
town, and soon obtained the reputation of a skilful 
and successful practitioner. In 1783, the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society elected him aa honorary 
member, ^^ and in 1791, he was complimented by 
his Alma Mater, with a medical doctorate." When 
the New-Hampshire Medical Society was organized 
in 1791, he was elected the first Vice President, 
and in 1793, succeeded Governor Bartlett as Presi- 
dent of the society. He continued in that office 
until 1799, when his declining health obliged him 
to resign. He had been a zealous promoter, and 
an active member of this institution. The benefit 
arising from the regular meetings of members, and 
their reciprocal communications of their personal 
experience in extraordinary cases, was very evi- 
dent, as it would be the means of diffusing their 
knowledge more extensively. On the first forma' 
tion of the society, it was intended to establish a 
medical library, and Doctor Brackett laid the foun- 
dation of it, by presenting them one hundred and 
forty-three volumes of valuable books in that branch 
of science. When he declined a reelection to the 
presidency, the society made their ^' respectful ac- 
knowledgments to him for his diligent and friendly 
attention to its interests; and for his liberal donation 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 323 

to it." " His profession, in which he shone with 
eminence, was his peculiar delight, as the native 
bias of his soul, led him to the relief of those wants 
and distresses, which it continually presented to his 
view. To increase his knowledge and usefulness in 
it, his reading, which was uncommonly extensive, 
liis observations, which were accurate, and his re- 
flections, which were judicious, were principally 
directed. In medicine his motto was. Imitate Na- 
ture. He was extremely attentive to his patients, 
and spared no pains to investigate the cause and the 
nature of their maladies, and to afford relief. While 
a happy general success attended his professional 
ministration, his tenderness and sympathy with the 
sons and daughters of disease and distress, were 
striking traits in his character, and greatly endear 
his memory." 

Doctor Brackett had a great taste for natural his- 
tory, and botany, and was very desirous that a pro- 
fessorship in those branches of philosophy should be 
established at the University of Cambridge. A 
short time before his decease he requested his amia- 
ble consort, who always made his wishes the rule of 
her conduct, to convey certain property, worth 
about fifteen hundred dollars, when she should no 
longer need the use of it, to the corporation of 
Harvard College, for the above purpose. 

Doctor Brackett was appointed Judge of the 
Maritime Court for this State, at the beginning of 
the revolutionary war, and held the office until the 



324 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

duties of it were transferred to the District Court, 
after the adoption of the Federal Constitution. His 
health was visibly on the decline, and his constitu- 
tion gradually decaying for a considerable time be- 
fore his decease. He resolved at length, to try the 
efficacy of the Saratoga waters, and visited that 
place the latter end of June. But finding his dis- 
order rapidly increasing, and that he must soon sink 
under it, he returned home the 9th of July, and 
departed this life on Saturday the 17th of the same 
month. His remains were interred on the Monday 
following, "and the tears of the widow and the 
orphan watered his grave." 

He was of a mild and placid disposition, social 
and unaffected in his manners ; benevolence was a 
prominent trait in his character, and philanthropy 
always regulated every movement of his soul. 

The denomination of Christians, usually called 
Free-will Baptists, formed a society in this town. 

Sunday, December 26, about four o'clock in the 
morning, the town was alarmed by the cry of fire ; 
which was discovered in the building, occupied by 
the New-Hampshire Bank. Before many of the 
inhabitants could assemble, the fire burst out 
through the sides of the house, which was soon 
enveloped in flames. The fire was communicated to 
the adjacent buildings with such great rapidity, as 
to render it impossible to arrest its progress, until a 
large proportion of the town was laid in ashes. Ev- 
ery building on the parade^ except the meetings 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. S25 

house and Court-house, was destroyed. The upper 
end of Daniel-street was consumed as far as Captain 
Elijah Hall's on the north side, and Mrs. Hart's on 
the south, whose houses were preserved. To the 
northward the destruction was far more extensive. 
The buildings on Market-street and Fore-street, as 
high as Mrs. Whipple's, those on Bow street, as far 
as Mr. Cutts' store on Church- hill, those on Cross- 
street to the top of Dwyer's hill, and those on 
Ladd-street, except one, fell victims to the devour- 
ing flames. The amount of property destroyed was 
estimated at the sum of two hundred thousand dol- 
lars. 

The selectmen appointed a committee of five gen- 
tlemen to receive such donations as the charitable 
and benevolent may.be disposed to make to those 
who suffered by the fire, and requested the commit- 
tee to distribute the same among such of the suffer- 
ers as they think proper, and to return an account 
of their doings to the selectmen. 

The donations received by the committee amount- 
ed to the sum of forty-five thousand four hundred 
ten dollars, forty-three cents. And the committee 
kept an account of the receipts and distributions, 
which was open for the inspection of every one, 
who desired to see it. 

The honourable George Jaffrey died towards the 
close of this year, aged eighty-six years. He re- 
ceived a public education at Harvard College, and 
took his degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1736. After 



326 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

leaving College he entered into trade and naviga- 
tion. In 1744;, tlie Superior Court of Judicature 
appointed him their Clerk, which office he held 
twenty-two years. He was admitted one of his 
Majesty's Council in 1766, and was soon after ap- 
pointed Treasurer of the province ; and discharged 
the duties of that office until the commencement of 
the revolution. When the provincial convention 
ordered all the public offices to be removed from 
Portsmouth to Exeter, they appointed Nicholas 
Gilman, Esq. Treasurer, and Mr. Jaffrey paid over 
to him the sum of fifteen hundred sixteen pounds 
four shillings and eight pence, being the amount 
of public monies in his hands. 

Mr. Jaffrey possessed a large real estate, and be- 
ing one of the original purchasers of Mason's patent, 
the proprietors elected him their Clerk, in which 
office he continued until his death. He differed in 
sentiment from the leaders of the revolution, and 
was several times molested on account of his politi- 
cal opinion. He was a gentleman of the strict- 
est integrity and uprightness of conduct, punc- 
tual in all his dealings, and correct in his deport- 
ment. 

1803. 

May 5th. Thursday night, about ten o'clock, 
the barn of Isaac Shepard, situated near the pound, 
was accidentally, but carelessly set on firC; by a 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 327 

traveller who went into the barn with a lanthorn to 
feed his cattle. The barn was filled with hay, and 
was soon enveloped in flames. The fire caught the 
roof of the dwelling house, which stood near, but 
by the spirited exertions of the citizens, the house 
was saved without having received much damage. 

The Baptist society purchased a lot of land on 
prison-lane, on which they erected a meeting-house. 
At the sale of the pews, it was declared, ^* That the 
house shall be open at all suitable times and seasons 
for the improvement of every ministerial gift, of 
every denomination, if the preacher shall be of 
reputable character; which times and seasons, and 
other discretionary concerns of said society, shall be 
decided by the deacons of the Church, or by the 
standing committee of said society." 

The Legislature incorporated a society by the 
name of the New-Hampshire Fire and Marine In- 
surance Company. Their officers are to consist of a 
President, Secretary, and twelve directors; their 
capital stock is to be fifty thousand dollars. 

At the same session the Legislature granted a 
charter to the Portsmouth Bank, which is to con- 
tinue in operation twenty years, with a capital of 
one hundred thousand dollars. The principal rea- 
son assigned for requesting this charter, was, that 
the New- Hampshire Fire and Marine Insurance 
Company might have a safe and suitable place to 
deposit their stock and monies belonging to their 
office. 



328 ANNALS OP PORTSMOUTH. 

The associated Mechanics and Manufacturers of 
New-Hampshire, were likewise incorporated at the 
same session. The design of this institution, is to 
promote and encourage industry ; good habits ; an 
increase of knowledge in the arts they profess and 
practice, and their common interest ; to promote 
good order ; to assist each other in times of diffi- 
culty, and to add to the dignity, respectability, 
and prosperity of this useful body of citizens. 
The society is to consist entirely of Mechanics and 
Manufacturers ; and to gain admission, the candi- 
date must produce a certificate from his master, 
or some other acceptable person, that he has faith- 
fully fulfilled his engagements as an apprentice; 
is of a good moral character, and must obtain 
the votes of two thirds the members present at 
any regular meeting. Fees for admission are 
four dollars. The officers of the institution are a 
President, Vice President, Treasurer, six Trustees, 
Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Marshal, Deputy 
Marshal, and standard bearer ; all of whom are to 
be chosen separately by ballot, fft '^nW<^n bni» cfioh 

The Rev. Timothy Alden formed a plan for mak*' 
ing salt of sea- water by evaporation, upon a very 
extensive scale ; and a number of gentlemen associat- 
ed for the purpose of carrying the same into effect. 
On the 17th of December they obtained an act of in^ 
corporation from the Legislature, making them a 
body corporate and politic by the name of the Pro- 
prietors of the Portsmouth Salt-works. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 329 

The management of the concerns of this society, 
was committed to seven directors ; and they erected 
works for manufacturing salt, at a great expense in 
Kittery, on the eastern bank of the Piscataqua. 
After expending large sums of money, the plan 
proved abortive, and the society was dissolved. 

1804. 

The Piscataqua Missionary Society was formed in 
this town the 12th of June. Its object is " the in- 
crease of Christian knowledge and evangelical pie- 
ty : the promotion of the present well being, and 
eternal salvation of men." The officers consist of a 
President, Secretary, and a board of Trustees, not 
exceeding seven, to be chosen annually by ballot : 
some, but not more than three of whom, to be of 
the laity. The President and Secretary, to be trus- 
tees ex officio. The trustees, to appoint a Treasur- 
er, who is to be under bonds. Every minister may 
admit members upon their subscribing the constitu- 
tion, and paying two dollars, and each member shall 
pay two dollars annually, 

A number of ladies associated for the purpose of 
supporting and educating Female orphan children, 
from three to ten years of age. Their funds were 
raised by subscription, and placed under the care of 
a board of managers. They were incorporated by 
the name of the Portsmouth Female Asylum. 



42 



330 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

'December 8th. On Saturday evening a largje 
barn belonging to Mr. Moses Brewster, at the 
plains in this town, was consumed by fire, together 
with fifteen head of cattle, seventeen tons of hay, 
and all his farming utensils. /inaH sWeiuonori aril 
y^iiOti the Monday evening following, a barn of Mr. 
Samuel Sherburne, also at the plains and in the 
same neighbourhood, was entirely consumed by fire, 
with a quantity of hay, his horse, chaise, and a 
number of farming utensils. And on Tuesday eve- 
ning the 18th another barn of Mr. Sherburne's, 
was also destroyed by fire, with fifteen head of cat- 
tle, thirty tons of hay, a quantity of flax, and his 
remaining farming utensils. The fire had made so 
great progress in these buildings before it was dis- 
covered, and the distance from the compact part of 
the town was so great, that they were nearly con- 
sumed before the inhabitants could reach the place. 
There is no doubt but that the fire was kindled at 
each time by an incendiary. The selectmen offered 
a reward of three hundred dollars to any person^ 
who shall give sufficient evidence against the perpe* 
trator, to convict himrf aot loJBnae io ,itwo} girtj moit 
muznoD EBW ^babieai ari Aoidvr ai SBUod ins^sh 8ifi 
3030 adi ^aibfldiifi I9j3x3 iB ebw afl .sift yd bp 
ial banaqqcd arfqo 1805.?»ii aariw ^looO If 

»ii Sunday morning, January 13th, departed this life 
after a long and distressing illness, the honouraWe 
Woodbury Langdon, in the sixty-sixth year of his 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. OSt 

age. Mr. Langdon was born in this town, and jre- 
ceived his education at the public schools here, prin- 
cipally under the tuition of Major Hale. Upon 
leaving school he went into the counting-house of 
the honourable Henry Sherburne, one of the most 
eminent merchants of this place. After spending 
some time in this situation, he went several voy- 
ages to sea, and then established himself as a mer- 
chant here. He was enterprising and industrious 
in his business, and had accumulated some property 
at the beginning of the American revolution, a con- 
siderable part of which, was in England. To secure 
this property, and to transfer it to this country, he 
made a voyage to England, after the commencement 
of hostilities, and returned the year following, hav- 
ing accomplished the object of his voyage. After 
his return he entered warmly into the politics of 
the day, and took a very active part in opposition 
to the British Cabinet. He held many important 
offices under the State and General Government. 
He was a member of the Legislature of this State 
for many successive years, either as a representative 
from this town, or senator for the district. In 1781, 
his elegant house in which he resided, was consum- 
ed by fire. He was at Exeter attending the Gene- 
ral Court, when this catastrophe happened. In 
1782, he was appointed a Justice of the Superior 
Court of Judicature, which office he resigned the 
year following. Upon the adoption of the State 
Constitution, he was elected a senator. In 1786, 



33g ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

he was again appointed a Justice of the Superior 
Court, and held the ofl&ce four years. But some 
complaints having arisen that he did not regularly 
attend the Courts, an impeachment was drawn up 
against him, and passed by the House of Repre- 
sentatives. The Senate met at Exeter, to try 
the impeaphment, when it was suggested that 
they had not power to meet in the recess of 
the General Court, and the trial was postponed to 
the next session. In the mean time, Mr. Langdon 
was appointed by the Pi*esident of the United 
States one of the commissioners for settling the 
public accounts; he resigned his oilice as Justice of 
the Court, and the impeachment was never prose- 
cuted. 9gi3'iax9 art J 'lot aha & eiqmB bb imii inoiU 
ivji ^t company associated for building a bathing 
house ; which they placed in Cross-street, on a lot 
purchased for the purpose ; the building is fifty feet 
Ipng and twenty feet wide, and has three bathing 
rooms on each side, to each of which, hot and cold 
water ar€ conveyed by pipes. The company were 
incorporated by act of the Legislature the 27th of 
November, 1804. The building was erected the 
present summer. Tickets for bathing are sold at 
twenty- five cents each, or five for a dollar. 
. The honourable Johu Pickering, LL D. died on 
Thursday the 13th day of April, in the sixty-eighth 
yea?" of his age, Mr, Pickering was born at New- 
ington, and was fitted for College by the Rev. Jo- 
sepli Adams, minister of that plaice. He was gradr 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 333 

uated at Harvard College in 1761, and at first, turn- 
ed his attention to divinity ; but afterwards applied 
himself to the study of law. He was admitted to 
the bar and opened an office at Greenland, but 
shortly after removed to this town, and soon distin- 
guished himself as an advocate and counsellor. In 
his early age he became a professor of religion, 
''and was remarkably exemplary in all the walks of 
private, social, and public life." The wardens and 
vestry of Trinity Church in Boston, invited him to 
settle there as a colleague with the Rev. Doctor 
Walter, but he declined accepting the invitation; 
preferring the profession of the law, in which he 
was already established. He supposed it would 
afford him as ample a field for the exercise of his 
talents, and give him as good an opportunity of 
|jroraoting the cause of justice and humanity, as he 
should have in the ministry. He was candid and 
liberal in his practice, and faithful to his clients. 
He never refused to espouse the cause of the injur- 
ed, notwithstanding in many instances, he had no 
prospect of pecuniary reward. Always endeavour- 
ing to promote the cause of Justice, he was con- 
sidered an ornament to the bar. Conscious of 
the rectitude of his own intentions, he was slow to 
suspect others of being influenced by improper mo- 
tives. " His temper was placid, his manners gen- 
tle, his disposition kind and benevolent, his habits, so- 
cial. In conversation he was pleasant, instructive, 
and entertaining, and in his expressions remarka- 



ZM ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

bly chaste and elegant." Although abounding ia 
wit, he never indulged it to excite any unpleasant 
sensations in the bosoms of his friends. He was an 
honorary member of the Massachusetts Humane 
Society, and of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences; and the Government of Dartmouth Col- 
lege conferred on him the degree of Doctor of 
Laws. o«B9'i 09irtw Jbaiifoedo 570 atnalBj JiuBillnd 
ffJThe confidence, placed in him by his fellow citi- 
zens, appears by their frequently electing him to 
some of the most important offices in their power 
to bestow. He was a delegate from this town to 
the convention for forming the State Constitution, 
which was adopted in 1783; and was a very influ** 
ential member. The public are indebted to him for 
many important articles in that instrument.iuiaartno^ 
y He was likewise a delegate to the convention of 
this State, which adopted the Constitution of the 
United States, in 1788. His eloquence, and powei*s 
of reasoning probably had great effect, in procuring 
its adoption. For several years, he held a seat in 
the Legislature of the state, either as a representa* 
tive of this town, a counsellor for the county, or 
senator for the districts In each of these offices, his 
only object was to promote the public good, and 
his skill in jurisprudence, enabled him to discern it.. 
After the adoption of the Federal Constitution, 
Governor Langdon, who was elected a senator of the 
United States, resigned his office of Chief Magis* 
trate of the state ; Mr. Pickering as senior senator^ 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 335 

presided the remainder of the year/"^*In^l790, he 
was appointed Chief Justice of the Superior Court 
of Judicature, which office he held until the year 
1795, when he was appointed Judge of the District 
Court of New-Hampshire. His great legal knowl" 
edge, his integrity and eminent abilities qualified 
him for these judicial offices. But alas ! the most 
brilliant talents are obscured when reason is de- 
throned. A few years previous to his decease, his 
rational faculties became impaired, and mental de- 
rangement succeeded. Whilst labouring under this 
afflicting dispensation of Providence, he was remove 
ed from office; notwithstanding the principles of 
law, do not hold a person amenable for his conductf 
when deprived of his reason. <^ During his la^t 
confinement he had some lucid intervals, and at 
such times he invariably expressed his firm belief 
in the Christian religion, the fullest confidence in a 
future state, and his hope of happiness through the 
Redeemer.'?' ^JDaibj jtatJig bm xiJ^uouj ^aino&hd'i I9 

August 12th. The pastoral relation between tfte 
Rev. Mr. Alden, and the south church and parish, 
was dissolved agreeable to the advice of an ecclesi- 
astical council. The chnrch and coif»gregation gave 
him a full and unanimous recommendation. The 
cause of their separation, was the inadequacy of th^ 
stipulated salary for his support, jqobs arij lajlA 
jfOctober 5th. Early on Monday mornitig th9 
barn of Nathaniel Adams was intentionally set on 
fire by an incendiary, and entirely consumed, with 



336 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

several tons of hay. Attempts had been made the 
week previous to burn his dwelling house, and other 
buildings. Suspicions were strongly, and almost 
universally excited against a certain person, whom 
the Attorney-General caused to be arrested and 
imprisoned in the absence, and without the knowl- 
edge of Mr. Adams. 

The person suspected remained in prison until 
the next Supreme Judicial Court, and was then 
tried and acquitted. 

1806. 

The Rev. Samuel Haven, D. D. pastor of the 
south church, departed this life March 3d, in the 
seventy-ninth year of his age, and fifty-fourth of 
his ministry. Doctor Haven was born at Framing- 
ham, Massachusetts, the 4th of August, 1727. He 
received a liberal education at Harvard College, 
where he was graduated in 1749. He early devot- 
ed himself to the study of divinity, and by close 
application, laid the foundation for that eminence in 
the profession, which he afterwards attained. He 
soon became popular as a preacher, and at about the 
same time received invitations to settle in the min- 
istry at Brookline, Massachusetts, and at the south 
parish in this town. The literary advantages which 
he would enjoy at Brookline, from its vicinity to 
the College was a strong inducement for him to set- 
tle there, but the unanimity of the parish, and the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 337 

prospect of more extensive usefulness in the minis- 
try here, made him give the preference to this 
town. He was ordained in May, 1752, a short time 
before he took his degree of Master of Arts. His 
sermons were in general, ^* plain, serious, and prac-' 
tical ; his applications were warm addresses to the 
heart and conscience." He was frequently called 
upon to ofliciate on occasions where talents, improv- 
ed by education were required, and he always ac- 
quitted himself with reputation. In his visits to 
the sick and to the house of mourning, he was pe- 
culiarly ^^ the son of consolation. '^ Possessing a 
great degree of sensibility, his feelings vi^ere alive 
to the sorrows of his friends, and the tender sympa- 
thy of his nature prompted him to afford them re- 
lief. The Doctor had a taste for poetry, and a few 
occasional pieces, the productions of his pen, which 
have been published, <^shew the liveliness of his 
imagination, and the warmth of his heart." In 
1770, the University of Edinburgh conferred on 
him the degree of Doctor in Divinity ; and sev- 
eral years afterwards he received the same degree 
from Dartmouth College. 

His natural disposition was mild and pleasant, in' 
his religious sentiments he was remarkably catholic 
towards all denominations of Christians; and his 
benevolence and candour increased with his increas- 
ing years. jjjiow n»^ 

Mrs. Haven attended him in the closing scenes of 
life, and performed those offices, v;rhich are expect- 
43 



338 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ed from a tender and affectionate wife. After hav- 
ing discharged these duties^ and seen him close his 
eyes in death, she sunk under the weight of afflic- 
tion, and died the next day. They were both 
deposited at the same time in the tomb under his 
pulpit, and the Rev. Doctor Buckminster preached 
upon the sorrowful occasion. 

The pastoral relation between St. John's Church 
and the Rev. Joseph Willard, was dissolved by 
mutual consent the 20th day of March, and Mr, 
Willard removed to Newark, in New- Jersey. 

Monday, June 16th. The attention of the in- 
habitants of this town and its vicinity was attracted 
by an unusual, but splendid phenomenon, a total 
eclipse of the sun. The day was uncommonly fine ; 
not a cloud was seen in any part of our hemisphere. 
The air was dry and clear ; and all nature yielded 
the fairest opportunity for observation ; but there 
were no preparations made here for observing it 
with accuracy. The eclipse began a few minutes 
after ten in the morning, and continued till nearly 
half past twelve. Its duration was about two hours, 
forty four minutes. The total obscuration continu- 
ed upwards of four minutes, during which time the 
moon was surrounded by a luminous ring f the outer 
edge of which, was not well defined, but was irreg- 
ular or indented, it was of a pale white colour, and 
vivid coruscations appeared to issue from it. As 
the eclipse advanced, a cold chilliness affected the 
air, the thermometer fell several degrees, fowls 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH, 339 

went to roost, several stars of the first and second 
magnitude were seen with the naked eye. Venus 
was visible more than half an hour ; a brightness, 
resembling twilight, surrounded the hemisphere ten 
or fifteen degrees above the horizon, and every 
thing had the appearance of the approach of night. 
The whole scene was sublime and beautiful. Total 
eclipses of the sun rarely occur, and still more rare- 
ly in places where they can be observed. One took 
place at London the 22d of April, 1715, which was 
accurately observed by Doctor Halley, who remarks, 
that there had not been a total eclipse of the sun at 
London, since the 20th of March, 1140. 

Wednesday morning, December 24th, between 
the hours of five and six, a fire broke out in a 
store, situated on Bow-street, occupied by Stephen 
Little. Before many of the inhabitants could be 
assembled, the flames had made so great progress 
that there was no possibility of saving it. The fire 
communicated to a store on the west, belonging to 
the heirs of the honourable George JafTrey, deceas- 
ed, one apartment of which, was consumed. To 
the eastward, it extended to the dwelling house and 
cooper's shop of Mr. James Day, which were con- 
sumed with all the intermediate buildings. The 
stores were generally full of merchandize, most of 
which was destroyed or lost. During the confla* 
gration, some burning shingles or other light stuff, 
lodged on the steeple of St. John's Church, and set 
it on fire. The most powerful engine could not 



340 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

throw water high enough to extinguish it. An at- 
tempt was made to cut down the steeple, hut did 
not succeed. The fire reached the main body of 
the church, and it fell a sacrifice to the devouring 
flames. The private property destroyed by this 
fire, was estimated at seventy thousand dollars. A 
munificent public contributed to the relief of the 
sufferers four thousand three hundred dollars, 
which were distributed among the most necessitous. 
The fire is supposed to have originated from a 
hearth, which was only one thickness of brick, laid 
on timbers. Several buildings were taken down to 
stop the progress of the fire ; for which the town, 
in its corporate capacity, paid the individuals, who 
owned them, their estimated value. 

December 23th. The parishioners of St John's 
Church, met in the north meeting-house to celebrate 
Christmas. The Church service was performed by 
a lay reader, and the Rev. Doctor Buckminster 
preached a very appropriate sermon on the occasion, 
from the words, " Our holy and our beautiful house, 
where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up with fire." 

1807. 

The proprietors and parishioners of St. John's 
Church, held a meeting at the east chamber of the 
Court-house, on the 10th day of January, and au- 
thorized a number of persons, who had subscribed 
for the purpose, to erect a chapel on the same lot of 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 341 

land, where their former chapel stood, and empow- 
ered them to make sale of all the seats and pews to be 
erected in said chapel, for their own use and benefit. 
The south parish, being destitute of a minister at 
this time, very generously offered the use of their 
meeting-house to the Episcopal Church, and the 
two societies united in public worship through the 
summer. 

On Wednesday, the 24th of June, the corner stone 
of St. John's Church was laid by the most Worship- 
ful Thomas Thompson, Esq. Grand Master of Masons 
in New-Hampshire ; assisted by the Grand Lodge 
and many other brethren of the order. 

A procession was formed at the Lodge Room, 
which moved to the site of the church, in the fol- 
lowing order : 

Washington Lodge; 

St. John's Lodge; 

Band of Mixsic; 

Principal Architect with the plate; 

Architects with implements; 

Subscribers for rebuilding the Church; 

Committee of the Subscribers; 

New-Hampshire Military Officers in town; 

United States Military Officers; Selectmen of Portsmouth; 

New-Hampshire Civil Officers in town; 

United States Civil Officers; 

Gentlemen of distinction; 

Foreigners of distinction; 

Clergymen; 

Grand Lodge; 

The Governor and his aids, immediately preceding the 

Grand Master. 



342 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

The ceremony commenced at high twelve, by 
singing an ode ; then the Grand Master, assisted by 
the craft, proceeded to lay the corner stone in am- 
ple form ; under which, were deposited the coins of 
the United States, medals of the illustrious Wash- 
ington, and a silver plate with the following in- 
scription : 

A. D. 1732, 

Queen's Chapel was built on this spot; 

A. D. 1791, 

It received the name of St. John's Church, 

by act of incorporation; 

December 24, 1806, 

It was burned to the ground; 

June 24, 1807, A. L. lOODCCCVII, 

Tliis Corner Stone was laid in ample form, 

by Thomas Thompson, Esquire, 

Grand Master of Masons in New-Hampshire, 

duly assisted 

By the Grand Lodge, and St. John's Lodge, No. 1 ; 

And honoured by the presence of 

John Langdon, Esq. Governor of the State, 

and the principal Citizens of Portsmouth; 

XXXIst year 

of the Independence of the United States of America; 

Thomas Jefferson, 

President. 



ON THE REVERSE. 



This plate, with the medals and coins, 
were presented 
By St. John's Lodge, No. 1 , 

Portsmouth, New-Hampshire. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 343 

The gold, silver, and copper coins and medals, 
the bank bills and written inscription, were all her- 
metically sealed in separate glass bottles by the 
Grand Secretary. 

Lyman Spaulding, M. D. 

Andrew Gerrish, Sculpt. 

An oration was then delivered by the Grand 
Chaplain, an ode composed for the occasion, was 
sung, and the procession returned in the same order. 

The attack made by the British ship Leopard, 
upon the United States ship Chesapeake, off Cape 
Henry, excited great alarm and resentment through- 
out the United States. A large and respectable 
meeting of the inhabitants of Portsmouth, and the 
adjoining towns, was held at the State-house in this 
town, on the 13th of July, when the following re- 
solves were passed : 

Resolved, unanimously. That we view the treach- 
erous, unprovoked, and dastardly attack of the Brit- 
ish ship Leopard on the United States frigate Ches- 
apeake, while in the confidence of friendship she 
was trusting to a state of peace, as set forth in the 
President's proclamation, to be an act of hostility 
against the sovereignty and independence of our 
country, which ought to excite the indignation and 
resentment of every American citizen. 

Resolved, unanimously. That the measures adopt- 
ed by our administration, are in our opinion, wise, 
prudent, and dignified, and that we v/ill cheerfully 
submit to any sacrifices, which the necessity of the 



344 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

times may require, in giving all possible support to 
them and to all others, our government may think 
proper to pursue for obtaining all honourable repar- 
ation, for the injuries and insults our nation has suf- 
fered. 

Resolved, unanimously, That the prompt, manly 
and patriotic measures taken by our brethren of 
Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Richmond, and 
their vicinities, before the will of our government 
could be known, were highly honourable to them- 
selves, and merit the thanks of every friend to 
American independence. 

Resolved, unanimously, That whereas the ef- 
fective power of a free nation, essentially depends 
on the degree of harmony and confidence, that is 
known to exist between the people and their rulers ; 
that we will consider as enemies to our country, all, 
who at such a crisis as the present, shall directly or 
indirectly use means to impede the due execution of 
such regulations, as our government may see fit to 
appoint. 

Samuel Hale, Esq. A. A. S. was born at Newbu- 
ry, Massachusetts, in 1718, and was graduated at 
Harvard College, in 1740. Soon after leaving Col- 
lege, he was engaged as an officer in the Louisburg 
expedition, and sustained the rank of Major. Af- 
ter the object of this expedition was successfully 
accomplished, and the army disbanded, he returned 
to Portsmouth, engaged as instructer of the Latin 
grammar school, and continued his labours in this 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. ^45 

seminary for nearly forty years with great ability, 
zeal, and effect. He imparted instruction to sev- 
eral thousand scliolars, fitted a large number for 
College, and lived to see among his pupils many 
of the distinguished men of our country. He was 
also for some time Judge of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas for the county of Rockingham, and has 
represented the town of Portsmouth in the General 
Court. Early in life he became a member of the 
Congregational Church, and was highly respected 
for his piety, integrity, learning, and talents. He 
died July 10th, 1807, in the eighty-ninth year of 
his age. 

The society for the propagation of the gospel in 
foreign parts, was possessed of one right of land, in 
almost every township in this state, lying without 
Mason's patent, granted to them by the late Gov- 
ernor Benning Wentworth, which lands the society 
conveyed to nine persons in trust, for the use of the 
Episcopal Church in this state. The trustees by 
their deed, dated the 20th day of July, conveyed 
to St. John's Church, twenty-nine of the above- 
mentioned rights of land, one tenth part of the 
income arising therefrom, to be appropriated to the 
sole use of the person, who shall be elected, and 
canonically consecrated to the office of Bishop over 
the State of New-Hampshire, and to the use of his 
successor in said office of Bishop, and the income 
and profits of the other nine tenths of said lands to 
the use and support of a Protestant Episcopal Cler- 
44 



346 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

gyman or his successor, who shall be regularly in- 
ducted Rector of St. John's Church, according to 
the office established by the General Convention of 
the Episcopal Churches in the United States. At 
a meeting of the parishioners of St. John's Church, 
held the 19th day of September, they voted to 
accept said deed upon the conditions therein men- 
tioned, and to appropriate the income of said lands 
accordingly. 

On Saturday, the 20th of September, at four 
o'clock in the morning, Colonel Seth Walker went 
out for the purpose of shooting pigeons. At the 
ferryways he took a canoe, or float, and proceeded 
up the river, it being flood tide, about two miles. 
Finding himself seized with spasms in the head, he 
made towards the shore ; and in stepping out of the 
float, it overset, and he lost his gun. Though very 
wet, he succeeded in ascending the bank of the riv- 
er and advanced a few rods into a cornfield, and 
here he fainted or fell into a fit. The boat was 
found on the Kittery shore. 

Sunday morning, the family being much alarmed, 
many of his friends, about two hundred in numoer, 
went out in search of him, but returned without 
success, and the general opinion was that he was 
lost. The probability is, that he continued in a fit, 
or remained senseless, during the whole of Saturday 
and Sunday. On Sunday night, or towards day 
light on Monday morning, he so far recovered his 
senses; as to attempt to return home. He went in- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 347 

to the compact part of the town, and between four 
and five o'clock, entered Folsom's bake-house, at- 
tracted perhaps by the light ; where the people 
were at work. The bake-house was at the back of 
Doctor Bucktninster's meeting-house, and within 
sight of his own house. He enquired of the work- 
men if they knew him, and could tell him where he 
was, and would conduct him home. This they ac- 
cordingly did. His clothes were very muddy ; his 
mind was much disordered, and his recollection 
imperfect. He remembered going out with his gun 
in the morning, and taking the boat, but all the 
intervening time, was a blank in his mind. He 
insisted upon it, that it was Saturday, and desired 
his wife to send word to some people that were at 
work on the highway, under his direction that day, 
that he was unable to attend them, and that they 
might disperse. He could not be persuaded that 
it was Monday, instead of Saturday morning. He 
was put into a warm bed, and after some time fell 
asleep ; in which situation he continued several 
hours. When he awoke, his mind was more com- 
posed : in a few days he was able to att ind to his 
business, and soon after regained his usual health. 
Doctor Dwight has introduced these facts into his 
travels because, he says, " it exhibits man in an 
attitude; which so far as known, is absolutely new." 



348 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

1808. 

Several gentlemen who had followed the sea, or 
were engaged in maritime pursuits, formed them- 
selves into an association, and were incorporated by 
an act of the Legislature, June 6th, by the name of 
the Portsmouth Marine Society. They were em- 
powered to hold real or personal estate, the annual 
income of which, shall not exceed the sura of five 
thousand dollars. Two thirds of the members shall 
consist of such persons as are, or have been masters 
of vessels, and all members must subscribe the bye 
laws and regulations. Every maritime member, on 
his admission shall pay twenty-one dollars fifty 
cents. Honorary members shall pay five dollars on 
admission. Five sixths of the income to be appro- 
priated for the relief of decayed and distressed 
maritime members, the remainder to be added to 
the permanent fund. The officers of the society 
are a President, Vice President, I'reasurer, Secre- 
tary and thirteen managers. Their meetings are 
to be semi-annual, in January and July. The man- 
agers are to direct the affairs of the society, and 
dispose of their funds, and shall meet quarterly. 
Every maritime member of the society, upon his 
arrival from sea, shall communicate in writing to 
the board of managers, his observations respecting 
the variation of the magnetic needle ; the sound- 
ings, courses and distances of rocks, shoals, capes, 
and headlands from each other ; currents, tides, and 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 349 

other things remarkable on this and other coasts, as 
well as any other observations, promotive of naval 
knowledge, and all such communications, together 
with the names of the persons making them, shall, 
when approved, be put on the records of the socie- 
ty, in a book to be provided for that purpose. 

The selectmen in pursuance of a vote of the town 
on the 20th day of August, by deed, appropriated 
a lot of land near the south school-house, ninety-six 
feet long, by sixty feet wide, to the use of the 
United States, on which they are to erect a build- 
ing, to be occupied as a gun-house, for the reception 
of the artillery ammunition and apparatus belonging 
to the United States, to be placed under the care of 
the artillery company or companies of this town. 

On the 14th of September, the Rev. Nathan 
Parker was ordained over the south church and 
parish in this town. The Rev. Aaron Bancroft, of 
Worcester, preached on the occasion. The Rev. 
Joseph Willard, of Boxborough, gave the charge, 
and the Rev. Huntington Porter, of Rye, the right 
hand of fellowship. 

1809. 

The town confirmed their vote passed in March, 
1807, respecting the land which had been occupied 
by the Rev. Doctor Haven, and authorized the se- 
lectmen to release to the south parish all the right 
of the town thereto. 



350 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

George Gains, Esquire, was born in the year 
1736, and served his apprenticeship with a cabinet- 
maker : he followed that business several years, but 
not finding it so profitable as he wished, he pursued 
the occupation of a house-carpenter; in which he 
was successful, and had a fair prospect of increasing 
his property. His zealous opposition to the stamp 
act in 1765, brought him into public notice, and his 
fellow townsmen rewarded his patriotism, by fre- 
quently choosing him a member of those committees 
which were the guardians of the liberties of their 
country. In the public rejoicings for the repeal of 
that act, he took a very conspicuous part, and the 
town was greatly obliged to him, for the brilliant 
display made on that joyful occasion. His attention 
was almost wholly engrossed by public business, to 
the exclusion of his private concerns. In 1773, he 
was chosen one of the selectmen of the town, and 
served in that office upwards of thirty years. Af- 
ter the commencement of hostilities by the British, 
he joined the American army with the rank of 
Major, and was present at the capture of General 
Burgoyne. He was elected a representative to the 
General Court for thirty successive years, with only 
one year's intermission. These repeated elections 
shew the confidence, his fellow citizens placed in 
him. He was commissioned as Commissary for the 
state, which office he held during his life ; and in 
1784, was appointed a Justice of the Peace. He 
died very suddenly on the 23d day of April; in the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 351 

seventy-third year of his age. He was seized with 
spasmodic affections in his lungs as he was sitting in 
his chair, and expired before any medical aid could 
be obtained. 

The connexion between the society of Universal- 
ists and the Rev. George Richards, was dissolved 
by mutual consent, and on Wednesday, November 
8th, the Rev. Hosea Ballou was installed as minister 
of that parish. 

Mr. Charles Burroughs, of Boston, officiated 
through the spring and summer, as a reader in 
St. John's Church. In the autumn, he received 
and accepted an invitation to become the pastor of 
that church. On the 10th of December, he was 
admitted to the order of Deacons in St. Peter's 
Church, Philadelphia, by the Right Rev. William 
White, Bishop of Pennsylvania. 

1810. 

On the 11 til of August, 1808, a company associat- 
ed for establishing a livery stable. The property 
was divided into two hundred shares at twenty dol- 
lars each. The company was incorporated by act 
of the Legislature, passed the 19th day of June, 
the present year, for the term of ten years, by the 
name of the Portsmouth Livery Company. The 
proprietors then increased their stock to three hun- 
dred shares, at thirty dollars each. 



352 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

The number of inhabitants at the present time^ 
according to the enumeration, made in pursuance of 
the law of Congress, amounts to six thousand, nine 
hundred and thirty-four. 

1811. 

Tuesday, August 13th, about eight o'clock in the 
evening, the ship Wonolanset, owned by Captain 
Reuben Shapley, was discovered to be on fire. 
She had arrived from sea about an hour before, 
laden with hemp, cotton, molasses, naval stores and 
flour ; and lay at Shapley's wharf. Alarm was 
given, and the inhabitants were collected; but a 
report being circulated, that she had a large quanti- 
ty of powder on board, they immediately dispersed. 
A small number only could be persuaded to return 
and assist in rescuing the property from the flames ; 
notwithstanding the assurances of the master, that 
she had no powder on board. An attempt was 
made to scuttle and sink her, but in vain. The fire 
spread rapidly through the ship, and to prevent it 
from communicating to the other shipping, and to 
the stores on the wharf, her fasts were cut, and she 
drifted on sunken rocks. Her masts were cut away 
to save the sails and rigging, but the hull and all 
the cargo were consumed. The fire was caused by 
striking a light in the steerage, near the bulkhead, 
against which a quantity of hemp was stowed. 
The loss was estimated at twelve thousand dollars. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 353 

1812. 

April 27 th. A number of the citizens offered 
the use of a fire engine to the town, which the pro- 
prietors agreed to keep in order, at their own ex- 
pense, except that of a hd*jse to keep the same in ; 
to be under the direction of the fire-wards for the 
time being ; on condition that the proprietors be 
appointed an engine coinpany, for said engine, 
with all the privileges and exemptions to which oth- 
er engine men in the town are by law entitled ; to 
which the town agreed. 

On Wednesday the 20th of May, the Rev. Charles 
Burroughs was admitted to the order of priests by 
the Right Rev. Alexander V. Griswold, Bishop of 
the eastern diocese. The Rev. Doctor Gardiner, of 
Boston, preached a very appropriate sermon on the 
solemn occasion, and delivered it in his best style of 
oratory. The next day the Rev. Mr. Burroughs 
was inducted Rector of St. John's Church agreeably 
to the Episcopal ritual ; on which occasion the Right 
Rev. Bishop preached. The whole services were 
solemn and impressive, and the Bishop discharged 
the duties of his office with dignity and grace. 

The Rev. Joseph Buckminster,D. D. pastor of the 
north church, died at Readsborough, in Vermont, on 
the 10th day of June. His health was impaired, and 
his complaints were alarming to his family, who fear- 
ed a mental derangement. He was subject to great 
depression of spirits, and at times his rational facul- 
45 



354 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

ties appeared disordered. It was thought best for 
him to take a journey into the country in hopes that 
it might divert his mind from those gloomy anxie- 
ties which appeared to distress him. Accordingly 
on the 2d of June, accompanied by his wife, and two 
particular friends, he left home and proceeded by 
easy stages to the Green Mountains, where he fell a 
victim to his disorders. He was interred at Ben- 
nington, and the Rev. Mr. Marsh of that place 
preached on the occasion to a numerous assembly, 
collected to pay the last tribute of respect to depart- 
ed worth. His parish appointed the 19th of June, 
to commemorate his virtues and bewail their loss. 
The Rev. Mr. Parker of the south parish, delivered 
a suitable and affecting discourse to a crowded audi- 
ence. The pulpit and front gallery were shrouded 
with black. 

Doctor Buckminster was born at Rutland, in Mas- 
sachusetts, the 14th of October, 1751. He was ed- 
ucated at Yale College, and was elected one of the 
tutors of that institution, in which office he officiated 
four years. Whilst an undergraduate, he formed 
the determination of entering into the ministry, and 
directed his studies principally to that object. Af- 
ter his ordination, " conscious of his awful charge," 
he devoted every faculty of his soul, to the discharge 
of the solemn duties, in which he was engaged. His 
sermons were serious and affectionate ; and were 
delivered in an engaging manner. He suffered no 
opportunity, either public or private, to escape him. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 335 

without endeavouring to impress the sacred truths 
of the gospel, on the minds of his hearers. His char- 
acter as a preacher, stood high among his acquaint- 
ance : as a scholar he was respected by all who had 
an opportunity of judging of his literary accomplish- 
ments. The College at New-Jersey conferred on 
him the degree of Doctor in Divinity. He was be- 
loved by the people of his charge, and his catholic 
disposition procured him the esteem of christians of 
all denominations. 

1813. 

Wednesday the 22d of December, the town was 
again alarmed by the cry of fire, which was discover- 
ed soon after seven o'clock in the evening, in a barn 
belonging to the estate of the late Colonel Woodward, 
situated on Church-lane and Jaffrey-street. In a few 
minutes the barn was entirely inwrapt in flames, 
which were communicated to some of the neighbour- 
ing buildings, and spread with great rapidity. Whilst 
the inhabitants were endeavouring to arrest the pro- 
gress of the flames, other buildings at a great dis- 
tance were found to be on fire, communicated by 
flakes, wafted through the air. The attention of the 
people was divided by these new scenes of distress ; 
the fire was raging in different parts of the town, at 
the same time. It burned furiously upwards of six 
hours before it could be subdued, and in several di- 
rections it swept all before it, until it reached the 



3.56 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

river. One hundred and eighty dwelling houses, 
and sixty-four other buildings, which occupied a 
space of fifteen acres, were destroyed. The Ports- 
mouth Library, consisting of about one thousand vol- 
umes of well chosen books, which was kept in Broad- 
street, was entirely consumed. The respectable in- 
habitants of Newburyport, Exeter, Dover, Durham, 
and Berwick, as well as those of the neighbouring 
towns, hastened to our assistance. The companies 
from Exeter and Dover brought their engines, which 
were very instrumental in saving the south part of 
the town. Commodore Hull, Captain Smith, Cap- 
tain Creighton, Captain Renshaw, and other gentle- 
men of the navy, then in this port, with the crews 
under their command, rendered very essential ser- 
vice. Li their conduct was fully exemplified the 
great advantage of discipline in time of danger. The 
officers with coolness and discretion sought the pla- 
ces where their exertions were most needed, and 
their men executed their orders with intrepidity. 
It is a subject of the warmest gratitude to the father 
of mercies, that at such an extensive conflagration, no 
lives were lost. One person had his leg broken by 
the falling of a wall. A gentleman from Newbury- 
port in search of objects of distress, entered a house 
involved in flames, and at great hazard rescued a 
child crying for its mother, and brought it off in 
safety. Forty persons arrived from balem, about 
three o'clock, having travelled forty -eight miles in 
six hours. They relieved the inhabitants, worn out 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 357 

with fatigue, by watching the remainder of the 
night. Newburyport detached eighty or ninety 
men, who guarded the town the succeeding night. 
There is reason to believe that this destructive fire 
was the work of an incendiary. The town was at 
this time, infested with thieves, and property to a 
great amount, which was saved from the flames, was 
afterwards stolen. One gentleman who went to the 
assistance of his neighbours, took his pocket book 
with him, in which were two thousand dollars. His 
pocket was cut from his coat, and his pocket book 
with its contents lost. Several strangers offered 
their services, which were gratefully accepted ; valu- 
able property was committed to their care, but neith- 
er they nor the property was heard of afterwards. 
The amount of private property lost or destroyed 
by this fire, was estimated at between two hundred 
and fifty thousand and three hundred thousand dol- 
lars. The Selectmen, as they had on former similar 
occasions, appointed a committee to receive dona- 
tions for the benefit of the sufferers. The sum of 
seventy-seven thousand, two hundred and seventy- 
three dollars was generously contributed, and the 
committee distributed that sum among the most in- 
digent, in proportion to their losses and necessities. 

The ship Granville, Captain Richard Shapleigh, 
master, from Cadiz, bound to this port, was cast 
away on a ledge of rocks extending a short dis- 
tance off Rye Beach, at four o'clock on Wednesday 
morning, the 14th of April. It blew a severe gale^, 



358 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

attended with a very heavy sea. The ship imme- 
diately bilged, and soon after went to pieces. Cap- 
tain Shapleigh was swept from the deck, while en- 
deavouring to cut away the mizen mast, and was 
drowned. The people of Rye soon discovered the 
wreck, and went in whale boats to deliver the re- 
mainder of the crew from the imminent danger to 
which they were exposed, and which they effected 
about seven o'clock at the great hazard of their own 
lives. The Granville was laden with salt, four 
hundred boxes of raisins, and a quantity of lemons. 
The cargo was totally lost. 

August 23d. This day is assigned for perform- 
ing the funeral obsequies of the brave and much la- 
mented Captain Lawrence, and Lieutenant Ludlow, 
who gloriously fell in supporting the cause of their 
country on board the frigate Chesapeake. The 
town directed that the bells of the several houses of 
public worship be tolled from one to three o'clock 
this afternoon. 

1814. 

January 12. Wednesday evening, soon after sev- 
en o'clock, the rope-walk belonging to Mr. Joseph 
Akerman, 3d, situated on the south road, was set on 
lire by some incendiary, and entirely consumed, 
with its contents, consisting of about five tons of 
tarred yarns, which had been saved from the last 
fire, by being thrown into the dock; and had been 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 359 

stretched in this walk to dry ; of three tons of 
hemp and yarns, one complete suit of sails for a 
ship, a small quantity of cordage and sails, which 
had been stored here, as a safe place of deposit. 
The fire was communicated to the yarns at the low- 
er end of the walk, and spread through it with great 
velocity, so that the whole was in flames in ten 
minutes. By great exertions the buildings near the 
head of the rope-walk were prevented from taking 
fire. The loss is estimated at three thousand dol- 
lars. A prophecy had been circulated the week 
past, that there would be a fire at the south part of 
the town, at half past seven o'clock on Wednesday 
evening. Little attention was paid to it by the re- 
flecting part of the community, who supposed it to 
proceed from the dreams of some fanatic ; but when 
the event so exactly corresponded with the prophe- 
cy, it was strongly suspected that a close connexion 
subsisted between the prophet and the incendiary. 
The selectmen offered a reward of five hundred 
dollars, for the discovery and conviction of the per- 
son who perpetrated the atrocious ofi"ence. 

April 19th. The town voted to make application 
to the Legislature, for an act to prohibit the erection 
of any wooden building more than twelve feet high, 
excepting in such places as in the opinion of the 
selectmen, a foundation cannot be laid without great 
difficulty or inconvenience, to the eastward of a line 
from north mill- bridge to Massey- street, tlience 
througU said street, and Akerman-street to the cen- 



360 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

tre of middle road, and thence straight to the south 
mill- bridge. The Legislature passed the act, in 
compliance with the above application, at their 
session in June. 

When a person distinguished for his virtues or 
his talents, has been summoned to pay the last debt 
of nature, society has cause to mourn. If his talents 
have been uniformly employed to promote the pub- 
lic good, his loss will be more severely felt. It is 
not necessary that his life should be dignified with 
titles, or burthened with public honours, to bring 
his virtues into view. Superior worth has often 
been found in the private walks of life; and has 
been induced to quit retreat, only for the sake of 
being more eminently useful. This is remarkably 
verified in the character of John Peirce, Esquire. 
He was the eldest son of the honourable Daniel 
Peirce, and was born in the year 1746. He receiv- 
ed his education at the grammar-school, under the 
instruction of Major Hale, where many of our fel- 
low citizens were qualified to fill important offi- 
ces. After laying a foundation of useful learning 
in the various branches, which were necessary for 
him in mercantile life, he entered the counting room 
of the honourable Daniel Rindge, and with that ac- 
complished merchant, acquired a thorough knowl- 
edge of book-keeping and mercantile transactions. 
At twenty-one years of age, he took charge of the 
business and extensive property of his uncle, the late 
honourable Mark Hunking Wentworth; which he 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 361 

continued to manage until Mr. Wentworth's decease, 
who appointed him executor of his will. The set- 
tlement of that estate, the care of property entrust- 
ed to him by persons residing in England, and the 
management of the affairs relating to Mason's pa- 
tent, of which he was one of the proprietors, re- 
quired his constant attention. 

He was opposed to the revolution, at its com- 
mencement, but was always open, honourable, and 
correct in his conduct ; and those of opposite senti- 
ments, respected him as a man of principle and 
integrity. 

After the peace in 1783, when the controversy 
between the claimants under Mason and Allen, and 
the dispute with the state, was in agitation, he was 
selected by the Masonian proprietors, as the agent 
on their behalf to take care of their interests, and 
settle the dispute on the best possible terms. By 
his intelligence, perseverance, and judgment, a set- 
tlement of this intricate and long contested business 
was effected. In the management of it, he gained 
the confidence of all concerned, by his open and 
upright conduct ; and it was adjusted to their mu- 
tual satisfaction. 

He was elected in 1791, one of the representa- 
tives of the town to the General Court, and for 
several succeeding years ; and was an active, intelli- 
gent and influential member. 

He was the principal agent in erecting the bridge 
over Piscataqua river in 1794 5 and; so very me- 
46 



363 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

thodical was he in that great undertaking, that he 
was able to give a detailed account of the several 
parts, as well as the aggregate cost of the whole. 

He was likewise one of the directors who laid 
out, and had the superintendence of making the 
turnpike road from Piscataqua bridge to Concord. 

At the adoption of the constitution for the gene- 
ral government, he was a decided federalist, and 
was firmly attached to those principles during life. 
In 1793, when President Adams thought fit to re- 
move several officers of government because their 
political sentiments did not coincide with his own^ 
and appoint others in their stead, he appointed Mr. 
Peirce, Loan Officer for New-Hampshire. This ap- 
pointment was entirely unexpected, and undesired 
by him ; and he was particularly solicited by the 
Secretary of State, to accept it. He faithfully dis- 
charged the duties of the office, until Mr. Jefferson, 
reinstated those gentlemen, who had been removed 
by his predecessor. 

Li 1791, he took charge of an insurance office, in 
addition to his other business. His knowledge of 
mercantile afliiirs, qualified him to manage the con^ 
cerns of it, with propriety and judgment. 

The great fire which destroyed a large portion 
of the town, in 1802, commenced in the building 
whei'e he kept his office, and nearly all of his valu- 
able papers were consumed. This was an irrepara- 
ble loss; and a source of great perplexity and 
trouble. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 363 

His benevolence was extensive; his liberal hand 
was open to relieve distress, occasioned by misfor- 
tune, especially among those, who had enjoyed hap- 
pier days. It was not a sudden impulse, which 
prompted him to these charitable deeds, but princi- 
ple formed with deliberation, as some can testify, 
who received their *^ daily bread'' from his bounty 
for a course of years. 

He was decisive in his opinions, and seldom re- 
linquished them. They were not formed in haste 
or guided by passion, but were the result of mature 
reflection, and sound judgment. — On the 21st of 
February this year, he sufTered an attack of para- 
lysis, which terminated his useful and valuable life, 
the 14th of the following June. 

Tuesday, June 21st, between the hours of ten 
and eleven o'clock in the evening, the town was 
alarmed by a report that the British were landing 
at Rye Beach. Alarm bells were rung, and signal 
guns fired. All the military companies in town 
turned out with alacrity, and prepared for the 
attack. A martial spirit pervaded all ranks, and 
they glowed with ardour, to be led to the place of 
danger. Expresses were dispatched to ascertain thQ 
situation of the enemy, and the report proved to be 
without foundation. It was occasioned by some 
boats of a suspicious character that were observed 
off Rye harbour, by the guard stationed there. 
The inhabitants again retired, to enjoy the sweets 
of repose. 



364 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Monday, November 28th. About twenty min- 
utes after seven o'clock, there was a severe shock of 
an earthquake, which continued half a minute : it 
was preceded by a heavy rumbling noise, the con- 
vulsion of the earth was violent, several houses were 
shaken, and persons standing on the ground, per- 
ceived the agitation. The noise and trembling 
went off gradually, apparently in a south easterly 
direction. The evening was very clear ; the moon 
shone bright, and the mercury stood at freezing 
point, in Farenheit's thermometer. This earth- 
quake w^as felt through Massachusetts, New-Hamp- 
shire, and Maine. 

1815. 

Wednesday the 15th day of March, the Rev. 
Israel W. Putnam was ordained to the pastoral 
charge of the north church and congregation in this 
town. The exercises on this occasion were pecu- 
liarly solemn, interesting, and satisfactory. The 
Rev. Doctor Worcester, of Salem, made the intro- 
ductory prayer. The Rev. Professor Porter, of 
the Theological Institution in Andover, preached 
the sermon ; the consecrating prayer was made by 
the Rev. Doctor Spring, of Newburyport ; the 
charge was given by the Rev. Mr. Wadsworth, of 
Dauvers, and the fellowship of the churches by the 
Hev. Mr, Parker, of this town, and the Rev. Doc- 
tor Dana, of Newburyport, made the concluding 
prayer. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 365 

June. The Legislature of this state at their last 
session, passed an act for the security of the town 
of Portsmouth, at the unanimous request of the in- 
habitants in town-meeting assembled, by prohibiting 
the erection of wooden buildings of more than 
twelve feet high. At the last annual town-meeting 
a vote passed to instruct the representatives of this 
town, to use their exertions to effect its repeal. 
A remonstrance signed by many of the respectable 
inhabitants against its repeal, and a counter remon- 
strance were presented to the Legislature ; and af- 
ter a full hearing on the subject, it was determined, 
by a very great majority, not to repeal the law. 

The connexion between the society of Universal- 
ists and the Rev. Hosea Ballon, was dissolved, and 
they elected the Rev. Sebastian Streeter their 
pastor. 

1816. 

A branch of the bank of the United States, was 
established in this town. Books for subscription 
were opened on the 1st of July, under the direction 
of three commissioners, appointed by the President 
of the United States. 

The management of their business at their office 
of discount and deposit in this town, is committed 
to a President, nine Directors, and a Cashier ; who 
are appointed annually by the directors of the parent 
bank of Philadelphia. The amount of their stock 



366 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

is two hundred thousand dollars. The days of dis- 
count are Tuesdays and Fridays. Notes are dis- 
counted for four months, or any shorter time. 

1817. 

January 9th. Thursday evening, about nine 
o'clock, a fire broke out in the barn and out houses 
of George Jaffrey, Esquire, in Daniel-street. The 
weather, being mild, with little wind, the flames 
were confined to the buildings in which they orig- 
inated. Mr. Jaffrey's dwelling house, which was 
but a few feet from his barn, was saved by uncom- 
mon exertions. 

An attempt was made to burn the town on the 
night following Saturday, the 15th of March. The 
incendiary placed a quantity of shingles against a 
cooper's shop in a very retired place, back of St. 
John's Church, and set them on fire, which had 
made some progress before it was discovered. There 
were several wooden buildings contiguous to the 
shop, which must inevitably have been destroyed, 
if the flames had not been arrested. The fire was 
providentially discovered in season to prevent the 
fatal catastrophe. 

The discovery of this fire has been attributed to 
the sagacity of a little dog, owned by one of the 
neighbours, who kept the family awake by his in- 
cessant barking; and when one of them arose t( 
quiet him, he led the person immediately to the 
fire. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 367 

The selectmen offered a reward of one hundred 
dollars for the detection of the incendiary, so that 
he might be legally convicted. 

Doctor William Cutter departed this life the 
22d of May, in the forty-eighth year of his age. 
He was the son of the venerable Doctor Amrai R. 
Cutter. After having laid the foundation of his 
education in the grammar-school in this town, he 
studied the theory of physig and surgery, under the 
direction of his father. Towards the close of his 
studies he had the advantage of visiting his father's 
patients with him, and obtaining an insight into his 
practice. Doctor Hall Jackson was at this time in 
full practice, and was the principal surgeon in this 
part of the country. Being infirm, he frequently 
took young Mr. Cutter with him as a companion 
and assistant. This likewise gave him an opportu- 
nity of acquainting himself with extensive practice 
in the various branches of medicine and surgery, 
and he profited greatly by the experience and skill 
of these eminent physicians. Under such favoura- 
ble auspices he commenced business, and by his 
diligent attention to the duties of his profession, 
and careful observations of the cases, which he had 
an opportunity to examine, he soon became respec- 
table in his profession, and obtained the confidence of 
his employers. His practice was extensive, and his 
advice and assistance were requested in critical ca- 
ses, not only in the circuit of his daily practice, but 
often at a distance where his usual visits could not 



368 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

extend. He was benevolent in his disposition, and 
the poor, from whom he expected no recompence, 
reaped equal benefit from his skill and assistance, 
with those from whom he expected the most ample 
remuneration. He never attempted to screen him- 
self from danger, when duty called. During the 
prevalence of the yellow fever in this town, in 
1798, he visited his patients, labouring under that 
complaint, with unremitted attention ; and towards 
the close of the season, he was attacked with the 
disorder, from which he recovered to the inexpres- 
sible satisfaction of his numerous acquaintance. He 
was social in his disposition, mild and placid in his 
manners, and society mourns the loss of one of its 
most useful members. 

Since the Portsmouth Library was burnt in 1813, 
there has been no institution of the kind in this 
town. A number of gentlemen last winter, sensible 
of the great advantages that might be derived from 
having a public library, established under proper 
regulations, associated for the purpose of commenc- 
ing one. They procured a convenient room, which 
was to be open from eight o'clock in the morning, 
until nine o'clock in the evening, in which they 
collected a few books, and periodical publications 
for the accommodation of the subscribers, and such 
strangers as they might think proper to introduce. 
Several persons, to encourage the undertaking, de- 
posited their books there for the benefit of the sub- 
scribers. At the session of the Legislature in June, 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 369 

they obtained an act of incorporation, making them 
a body corporate and politic, by the name of the 
proprietors of the Portsmouth Athenaeum. The 
affairs of the society are managed by a President, 
Secretary, and Treasurer, and three Directors. The 
property is divided into thirty shares. Each pro- 
prietor paid fifty dollars, which were appropriated 
to the purchase of books ; each share was liable to 
an annual tax of three dollars, and no share could 
be transferred without being first offered to the so- 
ciety at fifty per cent, discount. There was anoth- 
er class of subscribers, who paid eight dollars per 
year, for the use of the books, and the privilege of 
the reading room, but who had no transferable pro- 
perty in the library. Others were admitted to the 
reading room upon the payment of five dollars a 
year. Thus a foundation was laid for a public li- 
brary. Though small in its beginning, the proprie- 
tors flatter themselves, that it will rapidly increase, 
and become not only a benefit to society, but an or- 
nament to the town. 



1818. 

April. The town voted to establish a school for 
boys, and another for girls on the Lancasterian plan ; 
and chose a committee of ten persons, to adopt and 
carry into effect such measures as they may deem 
necessary and expedient for the establishment of 
47 



370 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the same, and appropriated one thousand dollars for 
this purjTOse. 

Donald Mc'Intosh, Esquire, the British Consul for 
this State and Maine, arrived in this town in Sep- 
tember, and fixed his residence here. 

Wednesday, September 30th. The Washington 
Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, was constituted in 
this town, and its officers installed. The ceremo- 
nies were performed at the meeting-house of the 
Universalists; and an address was delivered on the 
occasion by the Rev. Mr. Fillmore. 

Friday, October 16th. The barn of William 
Sheafe, Esquire, accidentally took fire between one 
and two o'clock, and was entirely consumed. The 
Baptist meeting-house and two other buildings, 
which stood near it, were saved by the prompt ex- 
ertions of the inhabitants. 

1819. 

The honourable John Langdon was a native of 
Portsmouth. His father was a respectable farmer, 
and lived about three miles from the compact part of 
the town. He received his education at the public 
grammar-school, under the tuition of Major Hale. 
From school he went into the counting house of the 
honourable Daniel Rindge, where he became well ac- 
quainted with mercantile transactions. At the close 
of his apprenticeship, he entered upon a seafaring 
life;, which business he continued to follow, until the 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 371 

troubles between this country and Great Britain, 
interrupted the commercial intercourse between 
them. He took an early and active part in the 
opposition to the British government, and was 
one of the leaders of that party, which remov- 
ed the powder and military stores from the fort 
at New-Castle in December, 1774. In the spring 
of the year 1775, he was elected a delegate to 
Congress, and attended the session which com- 
menced in May, at Philadelphia. Soon after the 
beginning of the revolutionary war, he had the 
command of an independent company of cadets, and 
at the time of the surrender of the British army 
under General Burgoyne, went to Bennington as a 
volunteer. He was likewise at Rhode-Island with 
a detachment of his company,, at the time the 
British troops were in possession of the island, and 
when General Sullivan brought off the American 
troops. His zeal in his country's cause, led him to 
every necessary exertion ; and in various walks of 
life, he was most eminently useful. — He had the 
agency under Congress, of building several pub- 
lic ships of war : he frequently represented this 
town in the General Court, and when a member of 
the House of Representatives, was generally chosen 
their Speaker. In 1785, he was elected President 
of the state, and in 1787, was one of the convention, 
which formed the Constitution for the General Gov- 
ernment. In 1788, he was again elected President 
of the state, and the same year was chosen by the 



372 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

Legislature one of the senators of the United States. 
The General Government went into operation, and 
the first Congress under it met at New-York, the 
fourth of March, 1789. Mr. Langdon was elected 
President of the Senate, pro hac vice. His term 
as settled by lot, was for six years, and during this 
period the funding sysiem was adopted. Wijen the 
question was first agitated, Mr. Langdon was in 
favour of it, but changed his opinion, and finally 
voted against it. Before his term as a senator had 
expired, he was re-elected for another term of six 
years ; and within that time the commercial treaty 
between this country and Great Britain, was submit? 
ted to the Senate. Mr. Langdon voted against it. 
After the expiration of his second term as senator, 
he was chosen oije of the representatives of this 
town to the General Court, for four years successive- 
ly. In 1805, he was elected Governor of the state; 
which office he held six years, not immediately in 
succession, but with the exception of one year's 
intermission. In 1805, the Government of Dart- 
mouth College, conferred on him the degree of Doc- 
tor of Laws. 

Governor Langdon was easy, polite, and pleasing 
in his manners, and social in his habits ; remarkably 
well calculated to gain the public esteem, which he 
was generally fortunate enough to retain. He was 
liberal, although not lavish of his money. He re- 
tired from public business in 1811, and passed the 
evening of his days in a calm retreat from the bus- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. B73 

tie of politics and contending parties, and in the 
pleasing enjoyment of his family and friends. 

He became a professor of religion after he had 
passed the meridian of life ; was zealously attached 
to the church of which he was a member, and cul- 
tivated an acquaintance with good and pious men of 
all denominations. 

A few years previous to his decease, he was 
troubled with paralytic affections, and gradually de- 
clined until the 18th of September, when he died. 
At his funeral, military honours were performed by 
the battalion of the United States troops under Co- 
lonel Walbach ; minute guns were fired during the 
procession, the forts, navy-yard, and shipping dis- 
played their colours at half-mast, and every mark of 
respect was paid, that was due to so distinguished a 
citizen. 

1820. 

The number of inhabitants according to the cen- 
sus, amounts to seven thousand, three hundred and 
twenty-seven. 

The Mechanic Association established a fund, by 
a voluntary subscription among the members, of fif- 
ty cents each, called the funeral fund ; and in case of 
the death of any subscriber to the fund, the survi- 
vors are to be assessed twenty-five cents each, for 
the purpose of replenishing said fund. The monies 
thus collected, are to be kept separate from the 



374 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

general funds of the society, and are appropriated 
to the relief of the family of any deceased subscri- 
ber. A committee consisting of two persons chosen 
annually, with the President of the association, styl- 
ed a Committee of Condolence, is to wait upon the 
widow or children of such deceased member, or 
make a communication to her, or them in writing, 
and present her, or them with twenty dollars from 
said funeral fund, and to tender the services of the 
members of the association, in the settlement of 
such deceased brother's estate. 

Those persons, who have devoted themselves to 
promote the ease, comfort, and happiness of their 
fellow men, who have diligently exerted their tal- 
ents for the public good, through a long and active 
life, deserve the approbation of their cotemporaries, 
and to have their names respectfully handed down 
to posterity. The physician, whose business makes 
him conversant with the miseries of life, and whose 
constant study is to relieve the distresses, and me- 
liorate the condition of mankind ; has the greatest 
opportunity of experiencing the noblest sympathies 
of the human breast. No man better deserves the 
meed of praise, for the exercise of these benevolent 
feelings, through a long, diligent, and skilful course 
of practice, than the late venerable and respected 
Doctor Ammi Ruhamah Cutter. — All who have re- 
ceived his unremitted attentions in the hour of af- 
fliction, will remember with gratitude his many acts 
of kindness and affection. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 375 

Doctor Cutter was born at North Yarmouth, in 
Maine, in 1733. He was the eldest son of the Rev. 
Mr. Cutter, the first minister of that place ; and 
was educated at Harvard College, where he was 
graduated in 1752, at the early age of seventeeli. 
Having determined to pursue the practice of phys- 
ic, he was placed under the tuition of Doctor Clem- 
ent Jackson, an eminent physician in this town. 
Soon after completing his studies, he was appointed 
surgeon of a regiment raised in this province to 
oppose the French and Indians, who were making 
terrible inroads on the English settlements. He 
continued with his regiment on the frontiers a long 
time, and until they were ordered to Cape Breton. 
He embarked with them for that place, and was at 
the capture of Louisburgh, in 1758, After the 
reduction of that important fortress, he returned to 
this town, and commenced business in his profession , 
his urbanity of manner, and assiduous attention, pro- 
cured him extensive practice. Doctor Cutter was 
requested to accept the office of Counsellor under 
the royal government, but declined, because he 
thought the official duties would be incompatible 
with his professional engagements. Although he 
was in habits of intimacy and friendship with the 
principal officers of distinction before the revolu- 
tion, and had many inducements to unite with them 
in politics, yet from principle, he embraced the 
cause of his country, and firmly opposed the oppres- 
sive acts of the British ministry. In 1777, he was 



376 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

solicited to take charge of the medical department 
in the northern army, and notwithstanding the in- 
convenience to which it subjected him, he accepted 
the appointment, and remained with the army, un- 
til the surrender of General Burgoyne. He then 
returned home and resumed his practice, which he 
continued, until prevented by the infirmities of age. 
Few physicians have had such extensive practice, 
for such a length of time as Doctor Cutter. For 
nearly sixty years, his labours were incessant ; and 
the confidence placed in him by the community 
was unbounded. 

The town elected him one of the delegates 
to the convention that formed the constitution of 
this state. This is the only instance of his leaving 
his professional duties, to discharge those of political 
life. He was several years President of the New- 
Hampshire Medical Society. But his reputation 
was not confined to New-Hampshire. The Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society, and the Massachusetts 
Humane Society, each elected him an honorary 
member of their respective societies. <* Doctor 
Cutter was a christian ; his piety was sincere and 
rational ; the last act of his life, was a prayer, 
which he uttered the moment previous to his dis- 
solution ; and that prayer which bore his soul to 
heaven, evinced his resignation, his pious confi- 
dence, and his belief in the merits of his Redeem- 
er." He died on Friday, the 8th day of Decem- 
ber, aged eighty-six. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. $77 

1821. 

Monday, May 21st. The dwelling house of Thorn- 
as J. Whidden, situated on the road to Little- Har- 
bour, took fire between one and two o'clock, P. M. 
and was entirely consumed. The fire was caused 
by a spark from the chimney, which fell and rested 
on the roof. Mr. Whidden was at some distance 
from home at work, and only a woman and some 
small children were in the house. The fire had 
made so great progress before it was discovered, 
that it could not be extinguished. Most of the fur* 
niture was saved. 

On Tuesday morning, May 22d, the dwelling 
house of Jeremiah Hart, situated on the corner of 
middle road and Akerman-street, was consumed. 
The fire broke out about two o'clock, and had made 
such advances before it was discovered, there was 
no possibility of saving much of the furniture. It 
took fire in the cellar, some suppose, from the ashes 
which were deposited there. By great exertions of 
the citizens, the neighbouring buildings, some of 
which stood but a few feet distant, were preserved. 

On Wednesday evening, the 20th of June, the 
town was visited with a severe thunder storm, at- 
tended with heavy rain. The lightning struck the 
house of Robert Rice, Esquire, on Islington road. 
The spouts round the eaves of the house were filled 
with water, and overflowed in front of the house. 
The electric fluid appears to have been conducted 
48 



378 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

by the rain to the current of water in the spouts, 
and in its descent, was attracted by the iron weights 
to the windows. It shattered the blinds, broke 
some of the glass, tore away a shutter, and forced it 
a considerable distance into the room. It then de- 
scended to the lower story, broke down some of the 
plaister of the wall, and was conducted along the 
bell-wire, which it melted, to the bell handle on the 
outside of the door, and passed off by the iron rail- 
ing to the ground. 

1822, 

. January 8th. A bridge connecting this town 
with New-Castle, was completed and opened for 
passengers. It is in three parts ; the first extends 
from the south end to Shapley's Island, and is 849 
feet in length. The second extends from Shapley's 
Island to Amazeen's Island, 713 feet, and the third 
extends from Amazeen's Island to Great-Island, 809 
feet; making the whole bridge 2371 feet in length. 
The bridge is built on piles, excepting long abut- 
ments at each shore. The greatest depth of the 
channels where the bridge crosses them, is not more 
than thirty-five feet at low water. The whole cost 
w^as about eight thousand dollars. The distance 
from the Court-house in this town, to Fort Consti- 
tution over this bridge, is two miles and three 
quarters. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. ^79 

The proprietors were incorporated by an act of 
the Legislature, passed the 19th of June, 1821. 

The Rev. Joseph Walton departed this life on the 
10th of January, having attained the age of eighty 
years. He was a native of New-Castle, descended 
from some of its earliest and most respectable inhab- 
itants ; one of his ancestors, was a long time Presi- 
dent of the Provincial Council. Mr. Walton was 
bred a cooper, and worked at the trade a number 
of years. Being of a serious disposition, he ear- 
ly became a professor of religion, and joined the 
church, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Doctor 
Langdon. In this connexion, he continued three 
years, and then became a member of the Independ* 
ent Congregational Church, of which the Rev. Mr. 
Drown was pastor. That society had no regular 
settled minister after the death of Mr. Drown, but 
had depended almost entirely upon occasional sup- 
plies of their desk. In 1777, they elected Mr. Wal- 
ton one of their ruling elders, and when they were 
destitute of preaching, he took the lead in their 
devotions ; and read and expounded the scriptures 
to them publickly on the sabbath. His services 
were very acceptable to the people, and they settled 
him as their minister in 1789. From that time he 
statedly preached, and " administered to his people 
in sacred things" until a short time before his death* 
He was greatly beloved by them, and highly re- 
spected by the ministers, and christians of the other 
denominations in town. He was very exemplary in 



380 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

his life and conversation. His integrity was unim- 
peachable ; his moral virtues were of the highest 
class, for his principles were founded on the word 
of truth. He possessed a strong discriminating 
mind, but unimproved by education; he was not- 
withstanding a pious and useful minister of the 
gospel, and discharged his parochial duties with 
uncommon diligence and faithfulness. He had from 
his youth been in the practice of reading serious and 
instructive books at his leisure hours. The scrip- 
tures were his peculiar delight ; he studied them con- 
stantly and with attention, accompanied by prayer 
for the divine blessing on his endeavours to under- 
stand them. In his search after truth he was pa- 
tient and persevering, and his investigations were 
accurate. By these means he qualified himself for 
the gospel ministry. 

On Friday, tlie 12th of July, there was a violent 
thunder storm, accompanied by torrents of rain. 
A sudden flash of lightning appeared to fill the 
atmosphere with its brightness, and at the same 
moment a tremendous crash of thunder, burst over 
the town. The electric fluid struck at six different 
places. In State-street, the chimney of Mr. Jones' 
house above the roof was demolished, and the bricks 
were scattered in all directions. The lightning de- 
scended without doing other injury until it reached 
the lower floor, when it burst from the chimney, 
scattering fragments of wood and lathing with such 
violence as to break the pannels of the doors, which 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 381 

they happened to strike. Mrs. Jones was in the 
room, but almost miraculously escaped without any 
material injury. Mr. Laighton, standing by a win- 
dow in his store on the opposite side of the street, 
was struck to the ground and much hurt. The 
shock was felt in all directions for a considerable 
distance. The school-house, about ten rods distant 
was struck at the same explosion, a part of the 
chimney was torn down, and a piece of the belfrey 
carried across the street. Although full of scholars 
at the time, not one was injured. At the same mo- 
ment a shop of Mr. Badger's, across the river about 
a mile distant, was struck, and about one third of it 
shattered to pieces. A building situated in the 
tan-yard of Mr. Jackson, at the north part of the 
town, was also struck and considerably injured. At 
the south meeting-house, the lightning descended 
the rod, and bending it, loosened the clamps in its 
progress. About a foot from the ground, a portion 
of the fluid appears to have been attracted from the 
rod by the hinges and hooks of the outer door. The 
building was injured on the inside, some of the inner 
doors were broken to pieces, the cornice under the 
gallery was forced off, and pieces of it were thrown 
several feet, and the windows, through which the 
funnel of the stoves passed, were broken. This 
building has been struck by lightning three or four 
times. Doctor Franklin observed not long after it 
was erected, that it was peculiarly exposed to light- 
ning, being situated on a rising ground between two 



382 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

bodies of water, which would attract and divide the 
clouds, or suspend them over the building. It has 
been supposed that the rod affixed to this building, 
does not penetrate a sufficient depth into the earth, 
and that the injuries have sometimes proceeded 
from the electric fluid being conveyed by the water 
on the surface of the building. Seven successive 
shocks followed each other within a few minutes, all 
of which appeared to have exploded in the imme- 
diate vicinity of this town. 

September 8th. Sunday afternoon, about four 
o'clock, just before the close of the evening service, 
the house of Mr. Samuel Gerrish, in High-street, 
took fire. Mrs. Gerrish was in the chamber with 
her children ; she perceived the smoke, and heard 
the crackling of the fire, and going below, found a 
shed which was attached to the back of the house 
all in flames. The fire was discovered about the 
same time by the neighbours, but had made too 
great progress to be extinguished. The house was 
entirely consumed, and also most of the furniture 
which was in it. Mr. Simeon Stiles' house, which 
stood about four feet from the shed, was saved by 
uncommon exertion. During the fire, many persons 
stood idle spectators of the scene. The firewards 
should compel every person present to assist in ex- 
tinguishing fires, or removing the property exposed. 
These officers are necessarily vested with great pow- 
er on such occasions, and they should be men in 
whom the greatest confidence can be placed. They 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 383 

ought to be chosen by ballot, and when a good man 
is once introduced into office, he should be long 
continued, that the public may have the benefit of 
his experience ; and but few of the board should be 
changed at a time. 

September 10th. The Portsmouth bridge, con- 
necting this town with Kittery, is so far completed, 
that the proprietors have opened it for passengers, 
and the ferry is discontinued. This bridge is in 
two parts ; the first extending from Rindge's wharf, 
at the north end, to Ham's Island, with a draw for 
vessels to pass through to the wharves above it. The 
other part extends from the easterly end of Ham's 
Island, to Kittery shore. It is built on piles, which 
being strongly framed together, are driven into the 
bottom of the river, and strings are laid from one set 
of piles to the next, on which the flooring of the 
bridge rests. Towards the westerly end of the 
bridge is an arch or space fifty feet wide, fifteen 
feet above high water, for gondolas, boats, and small 
craft to pass under the same, agreeable to a plan 
approved by the Justices of the Superior Court. 
Towards the easterly end of the bridge, is a draw 
or hoist for vessels to pass through in going up 
or down the river. The whole bridge is sixteen 
hundred feet long. The river at the deepest 
places is from forty-seven to fifty-three feet deep 
at low water. The whole has been completed 
in five months, and cost thirty thousand dollars. 
The proprietors are to pay Alexander Rice, Esq. 



384 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

out of the income of the bridge, four thousand dol-^ 
lars for his loss of the ferry. The proprietors were 
incorporated by an act of the Legislature of New- 
Hampshire, passed June 28th, 1819, and confirmed 
by act of the Legislature of Massachusetts, passed 
February 25, 1820. 

Great advantage is anticipated from this bridge, 
as most of the travel from the eastward will pass 
through this town, which has heretofore passed 
round the heads of the river, or over Piscataqua 
bridge ; besides the convenience it will afford the 
county of York in bringing their produce to market. 

1828. 

The society of Associated Mechanics and Manu- 
facturers in New-Hampshire, at a meeting held the 
5th of November, 1822, resolved to establish a 
library exclusively for the benefit of apprentices, 
and appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions 
and donations to it, and to establish rules and regu^ 
lations of the library. At a meeting held the 4th 
of February the present year, the committee re- 
ported, that they had obtained and secured the sum 
of four hundred twenty-five dollars, which was to 
be appropriated to the purchase of books ; in addi- 
tion to which they had received two hundred forty- 
eight volumes ; and at the same meeting they adopt- 
ed rules and regulations of the library, the purport 
of which is, that the library shall be under the su- 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH, 385 

perintendance and patronage of the society, who 
shall choose five directors; the President, Vice 
President, and Secretary of the society shall be 
three of them, the other two shall be chosen from 
the society at large. The directors shall appoint 
a librarian, who shall have the use of the library 
for his services. The library to be open every 
Wednesday from six to nine o'clock, P. M. and 
books may be kept out a fortnight. Every appren- 
tice applying for books, shall produce a certificate 
from his master, that he is deserving the privilege 
of the library, and that he will hold himself respon- 
sible for the return of the books. 

This year completes the second century since the 
commencement of the settlements on Piscataqua riv- 
er. The precise time of the year when this event 
took place, cannot now be ascertained. The land- 
ing at Plymouth, and the first settlement in Massa- 
chusetts are known with accuracy, but in what ves- 
sel Thompson, the Hiltons, and their companions 
came over, and where they landed, no record has 
been made. It was probably in May, or June; 
Winslow says it was ^^ in the spring." The Ply- 
mouth colony sent Captain Standish to Piscataqua, to 
purchase provisions, and Thompson accompanied him 
to Plymouth on his return in July. Their descendants 
and other inhabitants, desirous of celebrating the 
second centenial anniversary of the settlement of 
this place, fixed upon the 21st of May, for that 
purpose. All necessary preparations being made, a 
49 



386 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

procession was formed at the south meeting-house, 
and moved in the following order : 

Military Escort, 

consisting of two companies of Infantry; 

Masters of the several schools with their scholars; 

Mechanic Association; 

Free Masons, in the habiliments of their order; 

Committee of Arrangements; 

Orator, Officiating Clergyman, and Poet; 

Clergy; 

Civil and Military Officers; 

Citizens, 

The procession was very extensive, and moved 
through several of the principal streets in town, 
to the north meeting-house, which was entirely fill- 
ed. A very appropriate prayer was made by the 
Rev. Bennet Tyler, D. D. the President of Dart- 
mouth College. An ingenius oration was delivered 
by Nathaniel A. Haven, jr. Esquire, in which he 
gave a sketch of the characters of the merchant ad- 
venturers, who first promoted the settlement here, 
delineated some of the principal traits which distin- 
guished them, and pointed out a few, who had risen 
to eminence in the learned professions. A poem 
was delivered by Oliver William B. Peabody, Es- 
quire, of Exeter, which discovered his knowledge 
of the history of the country ; it was elegant and 
classical. Some odes, prepared for the occasion, 
by the Rev. Thomas C. Upham, of Rochester, were 
sung in the best style by the Portsmouth Handel 
Society. 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 387 

About two hundred gentlemen dined at Jefferson 
hall, among whom were several strangers of distinc- 
tion, and closed the day with hilarity and senti- 
ments of universal benevolence. The day was re- 
markably fine, and every thing was conducted with 
the greatest regularity and decorum. 

In the evening a splendid ball was given at 
Franklin hall. The sides of the room were entire- 
ly covered with portraits of eminent persons, who 
flourished here before the revolution. It is suppos- 
ed that nearly four hundred ladies and gentlemen 
graced the hall on this occasion. 

Captain John Mason, the original proprietor of 
the province, gave the name of Portsmouth to this 
place from Portsmouth in England, of which town 
he was Governor. It was originally much more ex- 
tensive than it is at present. Part of Hampton, 
Stratham, Greenland, Newington, Rye, and the 
whole of New-Castle, vvere included within its an- 
cient boundaries. It is now about five miles and 
three quarters in length, and three miles and a half 
in breadth. The compact part is chiefly built on a 
peninsula on the south side of the Piscataqua, form- 
ed by the north and south mill ponds, and connect- 
ed with the main land by a narrow isthmus on the 
north west, and by bridges at the outlets of the two 
mill ponds. The buildings have of late years been 
extended beyond the peninsula, and the compact 
part of the town has increased. The surface is un- 
even; but the hills are not high. The most elevated 



388 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

land is on the south road ; on the highest part of 
which, there formerly grew seven lofty pines, which 
were noted land marks for seamen, and the hill took 
the name of '^^ The seven pines,'' which it retained 
until they were all cut down. The south meeting 
house stands on elevated ground, and the steeple is 
likewise a land mark for vessels entering the harbour. 
Piscataqua River forms the only seaport in New- 
Hampshire. The harbour is safe and commodious, 
sheltered from every storm ; the water is sufficient- 
ly deep for the largest ships, and the anchorage 
good. The tide usually rises about eight feet. The 
current in the river, especially at the Narrows, is 
rapid ; in the strength of the tide it runs six miles 
an hour, and in consequence of its rapidity, the 
channel is never frozen as far up as Dover point, 
where the several branches of the river meet. From 
the position of the islands and high lands about the 
harbour, it can be defended against any force. With 
these advantages it may be considered one of the 
best harbours on the continent. Government has 
established a Navy Yard here, on an island purcha- 
sed for the purpose ; on which are erected build- 
ings for the accommodation of the officers and men ; 
two ship houses sufficiently extensive to cover the 
largest ships employed in the Navy, and a Dock 
Yard for the preservation of timber. This island 
contains upwards of fifty- eight acres, and cost five 
thousand five hundred dollars. Besides the carpen- 
ters, smiths and labourers employed in the yard, a 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 389 

company of marines is stationed here as a guard. A 
distinguished officer of the Navy has usually had the 
command at this station. Commodore Isaac Hull 
was appointed to superintend the business at this es- 
tablishment in the year 1813; under his direction 
the ship Washington was built. Commodore Thom- 
as Macdonough succeeded to the command in the 
year 1814, and Commodore Charles Morris in the 
year 1817. When Captain Morris was appointed 
one of the Commissioners of the Navy in 1823, Cap- 
tain William M. Crane succeeded him, and is the pre- 
sent commander at the Navy Yard. A large ship, 
rated as a seventy-four, and a frigate, are now in 
considerable forwardness, and can be launched in a 
short time, when occasion shall require. 

Portsmouth is situated in 43° 5^ N. latitude, and 
70° 41^ west longitude from Greenwich, or 6° 23-' E. 
from Washington. From the dome of the Episcopal 
Church, from the top of the ship- houses at the Navy 
Yard, and from the highlands in Kittery, are pre- 
sented very handsome views of the town. The 
streets are generally very narrow and irregular. 
They seem to have been laid out by the owners of 
the land for their own accommodation, without any 
regard to public convenience or ornament. There 
are thirty-seven streets and fifty-three lanes. Be- 
fore the commencement of the present century there 
were but four brick dwelling-houses ; the rest were 
of wood and contiguous to each other. But few 
were so isolated, as not to be in danger from their 



390 ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

iieigfibours' fire. After a great part of tlie town 
liad been destroyed, an act of the Legislature was 
passed, authorizing the Selectmen to widen the 
streets, and prohibiting the future erection of wood- 
en buildings of more than twelve feet in height ; 
but this useful regulation has not been strictly at- 
tended to ; most of the buildings however lately 
erected, have been built of brick, and in a superior 
stile of architecture to those which were burnt. ♦► 

Portsmouth has gradually increased in numbers 
and wealth, but not in the same proportion, as many 
other sea-ports in the United States. In the year 
1794, the customs collected in this port amounted to 
846,991 ; in 1799, they amounted to S89,384 ; 
and in 1824, to S 104, 133. But the amount of the 
duties collected at the Custom-house is not an accu- 
rate criterion by which we may judge of the com- 
merce of the town. " More than three fifths of the 
registered tonnage of this port is employed in the 
carrying trade. Freights are procured from the 
Southern ports for Europe, and on their return the 
vessels bring salt, iron, coals, and other heavy and 
bulky articles, which are sold here as cheap as in 
any part of the United States." 

In 1800, the commerce of Portsmouth employed 
twenty-eight ships, forty-seven brigs, ten schooners, 
two sloops, and one bark, besides twenty coasting 
vessels and a still greater number occupied in fish- 
ing. In 1824 there were belonging to this port 
thirty-eight ships, twenty-six brigs, one hundred 



ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 391 

and five schooners, one bark and twelve sloops, of 
which eighty-one were employed in foreign trade, 
thirty-three in coasting, and sixty-eight in fishing ; 
making in the whole 23,284 tons. One thousand 
four hundred and fifty-three seamen, including men 
and boys, were usually employed, of whom five hun- 
dred eighty-one were engaged in the fishery. The 
whole amount of exports to foreign ports, was 
S 199,820, and of imports 8221,982, and the dif- 
ference was made up by the freights, earned by ves- 
ssels employed in the carrying trade. The quanti- 
ty of cod and pollock fish taken and cured, was 
46,309 quintals ; fish-oil, 1216 barrels ; mackarel, 
exclusive of what was sold fresh in the market and 
for home consumption, 5575 barrels. There were 
exported to foreign ports 1147 barrels of pickled 
iish, and 8612 quintals of dried fish ; the remainder 
was used for home consumption, or carried coastwise 
to other places for exportation. 

The trade of Portsmouth suffered some inconve- 
nience from the want of direct communication with 
theinteriorpart of the country. This inconvenience 
is in some measure remedied by the New-Hampshire 
Turnpike road, and the bridges across the Piscataqua. 

The air of Portsmouth is salubrious ; the inhabi- 
tants are generally healthy, and it is not uncommon 
to find persons between eighty and ninety years of 
age ; there is one woman living upwards of one 
hundred and four years of age, in the full enjoyment 
of her mental faculties, and who was able to walk 



3^ ANNALS OF PORTSMOUTH. 

the last summer between eight and ten miles in a 
day. 

There are eight societies for religious worship in 
Portsmouth ; one Episcopal, two Congregational, 
one Independent, one Baptist, one Methodist, one 
Universalist, one Sandemanian. Great attention is 
paid to the education of children. Seven public 
schools and several private ones, are maintained for 
their instruction, besides district schools kept by 
women. The town pays annually nearly five thou- 
sand dollars to the instructers. 

There are seven houses for public worship ; one 
Academy ; five school houses in the compact part 
of the town, and two in the outskirts ; a court 
house, gaol, three markets, and the building belong- 
ing to the Athenaeum. This institution is very 
flourishing. The proprietors purchased the buildr 
ing belonging to the New-Hampshire Fire and Ma- 
rine Insurance Company, situated on the Parade, 
and have appropriated the lower story for a reading 
room, which is furnished with the best newspapers 
published in the principal cities of the United 
States. In the second story is the library, contain- 
ing nearly two thousand volumes, to which additions 
are annually made. In the upper story is a large 
collection of natural and artificial curiosities, mine- 
rals, coins, &c. The institution is esteemed a great 
ornament and advantage to the town. 



M##fiWlif|]|l?< 



No. 1. 

AN INVENTORY OP* THE GOODS AND IMPLEMENTS BELONG- 
ING TO THE PLANTATIONS AT PISCATAWAY AND NEWICH- 
EWANOCK, IN NEW ENGLAND, JULY, 1635. 

AT PISQJITAWAY. 

ARMS AND AMMUNITION. 

3 Sakers, 3 minions, 2 faulcons, 2 rabenets, 4 murthers, 2 
chambers, 22 harquebusses, 4 muskets, 46 fowling pieces, 67 
carbines, 6 pair of pistols, 61 sword^ and belts, 15 halberds, 
31 headpieces, 82 beaver spears, 50 flasks pair of band- 

aleers, 13 barrels of powder, iron bullets, 2 firkins 

of lead bullets, 2 hogsheads of match, 955Z6. of small shot, 

2 drums, 15 recorders and hautboys. 

STORES. 

58 cloth Cassocks and breeches, 153 canvas cassocks and 
breeches, 46 stuff cassocks and breeches, 80 shirts, 58 hats, 
40 dozen of coarse hose, 130 pair of shoes, 204 pair of stock- 
ings, 79 Monmouth caps, 149 pair small hose, 27 lined coats, 40 
rugs, 15 papous coats, 23 red cloth waistcoats, 16 moose coats, 
9 pieces red baize, 375 yards sail cloth, 12 bolts canvas, 12 
hides shoe leather, 17/6. wt. of lead, 14 iron pots, 23 iron ket- 
tles, 1276 wrought pewter, 504 wrought brass, 5 barrels nails, 
1 barrel spikes, 146 bars iron, 28 bars steel, quantities of all 
sorts of smith's, cooper's, carpenter's, mason's tools, 19 bar- 
rels of pitch, 16 barrels of tar, 8 coils of rope, of 2 1-2 inches, 

3 coils rope of 3 1-2 inches, 10 cables of 4 inches, 12 herring 
nets, 6 seines, 70 cod lines, 67 mackerel lines, 1 1 gauge cod 
hooks, 30 dozen mackerel hooks, 10 squid Hnes, 70 knots twine, 
1500 boards, 1151 pine planks. 

50 



394 APPENDIX. 

PROVISIONS. 

140 bushels of corn, 8 barrels oatmeal, 32 barrels meal, 15 
barrels malt, 29 barrels peas, 153 candles, 610 lbs. sugar, 512 
lbs. tobacco, 6 pipes wine, 170 gallons aquavitae, 2 chirurgeon's 
chests. 

CATTLE. 

24 cows, 2 bulls, 22 steers and heifers, 10 calves, 92 sheep 
and lambs, 27 goats, 64 hogs old and young, 13 mares and 
horses, 9 colts. 

This is a true inventory of the goods left by Capt. Walter 
Neal, to be delivered to Henry Joselyn, Esq. by command of 
Capt. John Mason, and received by us. 

AMBROSE GIBBINS, 

THOMAS WARNERTON. 

No. 2. 

GRANT OF THE GLEBE IN PORTSMOUTH. 

Whereas divers and sundry of the Inhabitants of the Lower 
end of Pascataquack, whose names are hereunder written, of 
Iheir free and voluntary mind, good wills and assents, without 
constraint or compulsion of any manner of person or persons, 
have granted, given and contributed divers and several sums of 
money towards the building, erecting and founding of a par- 
sonage house, with a chapel thereto united, as also fiftie acres 
of Glebe land which is annexed and given to the said parson- 
age, that is to say, twelve acres thereof adjoyneth to the said 
Parsonage house and layd out already by meetes and bounds, 
the south part abbutteth upon the edg of the salt creeke marsh, 
and soe tendeth along beyond Roger Knight's field, on the 
north part it extends towards Strawberry bank creeke, on the 
north east towards the River Pascataquack ending at the great 
pyne by the house, and the west stretcheth up into the main 
land, whereof there is three acres or thereaboutes already in- 
closed with a pale for a corn field, and a garden thereto be- 
longing, the residue of the 50 acres being 38 is thus to be taken, 
that is to say, the full tenth part of the fresh marsh lying at 
the head of Strawberry bank creeke and that being meeted and 
bounded to take the remainder of the 38 acres next adjoyning 
to the said marsh soe layd out, which said ground at the time 
of the said building thereon was desolate and void. Now the 
said Inhabitants aforesaid by their common assent and consent 
toward the furtherance and advancement of the honor and 
glory of God, doe give, grant, aliene and set over unto T'homas 



APPENDIX. 395 

Walford and Henry Sherburne, Church Wardens of this Par- 
ish, to them and theire successors, all the said Parsonage house, 
chappell, cornfield, garden glebe land with the appurtenances, 
with all our right, title, interest in and to the sajd premises to 
remane, endure and continue in perpetuitie for ever to the use 
of the aforesaid parish. And that the said Church Wardens, 
their successors and either of them which are yearly to be 
chosen by the said Parishioners be deemed and adjudged only 
as feoffees in trust to the use and behoof of the said parisli, 
and that during the continuation of this combination. The Gov- 
ernor and Assistants for the year being, as alsoe after the dis- 
solution of sayd combination by his Majestic, two of the princi- 
pal! men of the said Parish which shall hkewise yearly be 
chosen by the said parishioners, who jointly with the Church 
Wardens shall have the ruling, ordering and governing the said 
parsonage house, chappell, glebe land for matters of building 
)eparations or ornaments thereto belonging. Provided always, 
that neither the said Governor, Assistants, overseers or Church 
Wardens, their successors, or either of them, shall not alien- 
ate, give, grant, bargain, sell or convei't to any other use the 
said parsonage house, chappell, field garden, glebe land, or 
any the premises to any manner of person or persons without 
the common assent and consent of all the said parishioners. 
And what so ever act or conveyance they shall make contrary 
to the true intent and meaning aforesaid, shall be utterly void 
and of none effect. 

And for as much as the said parishioners have founded and 
built the said parsonage house, chappell with the appurtenances 
at their own proper costs and charges, and have made choyse 
of Mr. Richard Gibson to be the first parson of the said par- 
sonage, soe likewise whensoever the said parsonage happen to 
be voyd by death of the incumbent, or his time agreed upon 
expired, that then the patronage, \)vesently and nomination of 
the parson to be vested and remain in the power and election 
of the said parishioners or the greater part of them for ever. 
Given under our hands and scales this 25 of May, 1640, in the 
sixteenth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord Charles by 
the Grace of God, King of England, Etc. 



Francis Williams, Governor. 


Henry Sherburn 


Ambrose Gibbins, Assistant. 


John Lander 


William Jones 


Henry Taler 


Renald Fernald 


Jno. Jones 


John Crowther 


William Berry (seal) 


Anthony Bracket 


Jno. Pickering 


Michael Chatterton 


Jno. Billing (seal) 


Jno. Wall 


Jno, Wolten 


Robert Puddington 


Nicholas Row 


Mathew Coe 


William Palmer. 



396 



APPENDIX, 



No. 3. 

At a General Court of Election held at Boston the 10th day 
of the third month, 1643. 

The whole plantation witliin this Jurisdiction is divided into 
four Shires, viz : 



Essex — Salem 


Middlesex — Charlestown 


Lyn 




Watertown 


Enon 




Sudbury 


Ipswich 




Concord 


Newbury 




Woburn 


Glocester 




Medford 


Cochicawick, 




Lyn Village. 


Suffolk— Boston 


Norfolk- 


—Salisbury 


Roxbury 




Hampton 


Dorchester 




Haverhill 


Dedham 




Exeter 


Braintree 




Dover 


Weymouth 




Strawberry Bank 


Hingham 






Nantasket, 







No. 4. 



FRANCIS SMALL'S DEPOSITION. 

Francis Small, of Piscattaway, in New England, planter, 
aged sixty-five years, maketh oath, That he hath lived in New 
England upward of fifty years; that he very well knew the 
plantations Capt. Mason had caused to be made at Piscatta- 
way, Strawberry Bank and Newichewanock, and was well 
acquainted with all the servants imployed by Capt. Mason upon 
the said Plantations, some whereof are yet living; and that 
there was a great stock at each of those Plantations. And 
this deponent doth very well remember, that Capt. Mason sent 
into this Country Eight Danes to build Mills, to saw Timber, 
and tend them, and to make Pot-ashes; and that the first Saw 
Mill and Corn Mill in New England was erected at Capt. Ma- 
son's Plantation at Newichewanock upward of fifty years, 
where was also a large house with all conveniencies of out- 
houses, and well fortified with store of Arms. That about 
forty years since the said house and buildings were burnt to the 
ground, but hy what means this deponent doth not know; That 
about the same time this deponent, with others, was imployed 



APPENDIX. 397 

by Capt. Francis Norton, (who then lived at Capt. Mason's 
house at Piscattaway, called the Great house) to drive about 
One Hundred head of Cattle towards Boston, and the said Capt. 
Norton did goe with the Cattle; that such Cattle were then 
usually sold at five and twenty pound the head, Money of En- 
gland. And the said Norton did settle himself at Charles Town, 
near Boston, and wholly left Capt. Mason's Plantation, upon 
which the other servants shared the residue of the goods and 
stock among them, which were left in that and the other Plan- 
tations, and possessed themselves of the houses and lands. And 
this deponent doth verily believe that from the Cattle sent hither 
by Capt, Mason, most of the Cattle in the Provinces of New 
Hampshire and Main have been raised, for this deponent doth 
not remember or heard that any one person else did bring over 
any. That Thomas Warnerton, a servant to Capt. Mason, 
and lived in a fair house at Strawberry Bank, about the year 
1644, did carry quantities of Goods and Arms belonging unto 
Capt. Mason's Plantation, and sold them to the French that 
did inhabit at Port Royal, where the said Thomas Warnerton 
was slain. That sometime after one Sampson Lane came over 
from England with power, as he pretended, to look after and 
take care of the aforesaid Plantations, and did settle himself in 
the Great house at Strawberry Bank, and made additions there- 
unto where he continued about Three years, and then returned 
'for England; upon whose departure John and Richard Cutis 
got into possession of the aforesaid house and lands at Straw- 
berry Bank, but by what right this deponent never heard; and 
have sold several small Tracts, upon which many houses are 
now built, and possessed by the Relations of the said Cutts. 

FRANCIS SMALL. 

Sioorn before me the Sth September, 1685. 

R. CHAMBERLAIN, Just, P. 



No. 5. 

NATHANIEL BOULTER AND JOHN REDMAN'S 
DEPOSITION. 

Nathaniel Boulter aged sixty years, and John Redman aged 
seventy years, of the Town of Hampton, in the Province of 
New Hampshire, Yeoman, make oath, That they were two of 
the first Planters that did sit down at Hampton aforesaid about 
fourty three years since by Authority of the Massachusetts 
General Court, which gave power to some few persons (called 
Selectmen) who came likewise to inhabit in the said Town, to 



398 APPENDIX. 

gi-ant or sell lands to others as they thought fit. That upon 
these deponents first settling at Hampton, several of the Ser- 
vants of Capt. Mason, or his Heirs, came from Piscattaway to 
Hampton, and did forbid these Deponents and others from set- 
tling in the said Town without licence from the Proprietor or 
his Agents, and paying a Quit Rent. But these Deponents 
and others of the Inhabitants being backed by Authority of the 
Massachusetts Government which had declared those lands to 
be in their jurisdiction, no regard was had to the prohibition by 
Capt. Mason's Servants. And these Deponents do very well 
remember, That Mr. Mason had made a great Plantation at 
Piscattaway and Newichewanock, where there were a great 
Stock of Cattle, and much land improved. And these Depo- 
nents, about fourty years since, did see a drove of One Hun- 
dred head of Great Cattle, or thereabouts, that came from ofi' 
Capt. Mason's Plantation at Piscattaway, and drove through 
the Town of Hampton towards Boston, by Capt. Norton and 
others, the Servants of Capt. Mason or his heirs, and there sold 
and disposed of (as these Deponents were informed) by the 
said Capt. Norton, who did then settle himself in or neai- Bos- 
ton, and deserted the Plantation at Piscattaway. And these 
Deponents doe further testifie that such Cattle were comonly 
valued at five and twenty pounds the head, being very large 
Beasts of a Yellowish colour, and said to be brought by Capt. 
Mason from Denmark. And these Deponents say. That soon 
after Capt. Norton's going to Boston to inhabit, the Massachu- 
setts Government did lay claim to the whole Province of New 
Hampshire, as pretending it to be within their Patent, and did 
accordingly exercise a Jurisdiction therein, and required those 
inhabitants to take an oath of fidelity to them. 

NATHANIEL BOULTER, 

JOHN REDMAN. 

Swoi'n before me 6th of November, 1685. 

R. CHAMBERLAIN, Just. P. 



No. 6. 



GEORGE WALTON'S DEPOSITION. 

George Walton of Great Island in the Province of New- 
Hampshire, Yeoman, aged seventy years or thereabouts, testi- 
fieth. That he hath been an Inhabitant in the said Province 
about fifty yeais, That most part of the lands he now possesses 



APPENDIX. 399 

were granted by Capt. Henry Jocelyne, Steward to Capt. Ma- 
son the Propi'ietor, That this deponent doth very well know 
that Capt. Mason had many Servants, and a great Stock of 
Cattle upon his lands, That the said Servants and others after 
the decease of the said Capt. Mason did imbezill and ruine 
the Estate. And particularly Capt. Francis Norton, Agent or 
Steward to Capt, Mason or his Heirs, about fourty years since 
did drive from Capt. Mason's Plantation at Piscattaway called 
the Great House, about One Hundred head of Great Cattle 
which were then usually valued at five and twenty pounds the 
head. And as this deponent was credibly informed the aforesaid 
Cattle were sold in or about Boston by the said Norton, who also 
settled himself thereabouts and deserted Capt. Mason's Plan- 
tation, That thereupon the rest of the Stock, goods and imple^ 
ments belonging to Capt. Mason's Plantation were made away 
by the said Servants and others, And this Deponent doth very 
well remember the fort built by Capt. Mason upon the Great 
Island, (in the same place where the fort now stands,) and 
that it was strong and substantially made and furnished with 
great Guns, of which some were Brass, and were afterwards 
taken away by Major Waldern and his brother William Wal- 
dern and others, but by what authority this Deponent never 
heard, and some of the Guns this Deponent did see put into a 
ship belonging to one Lane, And this Deponent knows. That 
to the Great House at Piscattaway aforesaid there were ad- 
joining about One Thousand Acres of improved Lands, Marsh, 
Meadow, and Planting grounds, which were divided and par- 
celled out by the Servants of Capt. Mason and others, the 
select or prudential men (of the Town of Portsmouth) as they 
were so called who still enjoy the same or their Heirs and as- 
signs, whereof William Vaughan and his Brother in Law have 
a large share given them by their Father in Law Richard 
Cutt, And the said Great House by the means aforesaid came 
to decay and fell down, the ruins being yet to be seen, out of 
which several good farms are now made. And this Deponent 
doth very well remember, That the said Capt. Mason had 
made a great Plantation at a place called Newichewanock, 
about sixteen miles from that of Piscattaway, which by the 
means aforesaid was ruined and shared among several of the 
said Capt. Mason's Servants and others. And this Deponent 
doth further say. That to his particular knowledge the Ser- 
vants sent over by Capt. Mason of which some are living, and 
those descended from them which are many, have been and 
are the most violent opposers of the now Proprietor, Robert 
Mason, Esq. And this Deponent further saith. That those 
lands in Portsmouth called both now and formerly Strawberry 
Bank, were the planting grounds and pasture belonging to the 
Great House at Strawberry Bank wherein Thomas Waunerton 



400 APPENDIX. 

did inhabit, that was sometime Agent for Capt. Mason, and 
after the death of Wannerton who was slain about fourty years 
since, the said house and lands were possessed by Sampson 
Lane, but by what right this Deponent doth not know. 

GEORGE WALTON. 

Tahen before me, the ISth December^ 1685. 

WALTER BAREFOOT, Dep. Governor. 



LBMv'04 

H 9 7. 



